


They Say Opposites Attract

by Shipperandfanficer15



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Descendants 2 - Fandom, Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: AKs, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Auradon Prep (Disney), Crossover, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fanfiction, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Kitsune, Magic, Oral Sex, Phoenix - Freeform, Prejudice, Romance, Rough Sex, School, Sex, Shapeshifting, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Soulmate Tattoos, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Supernatural Elements, VKs | Villain Kids (Disney), Vaginal Sex, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2020-04-10 12:55:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19088917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shipperandfanficer15/pseuds/Shipperandfanficer15
Summary: *Requested by FeralG3 on Fanfiction.Net* Takes place a week after Descendants 2. Ben invites Cato, Katniss, and Peeta, 3 students from Werepack Prep, to attend school at Auradon Prep. OC, Mei, signs up to join the welcoming committee, leading to her becoming the trio's tour guide and eventual friend. As Mei starts to spend more time with the trio, her friendship with Cato slowly becomes something more. (DISCLAIMER! I do not own the Hunger Games movies, books, or characters. I do not own the Descendants movies, books, or characters.)





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

 

 

* * *

**Mei's POV:**

 

 

     I woke up to the sound of my alarm blaring. I sigh before rolling over to press the snooze button. "Today's the day.", I sigh. It's been about a week since the cotillion, and about a week since King Ben decided to extend his invitation to attend Auradon Prep to more kids from the Isle. It's also been about a week since King Ben decided to extend said invitation to other students from different schools. I slowly push myself into a sitting position, and stretch my limbs out. We're supposed to get three new students from Werepack Prep today. I reach over to turn my alarm completely off, then I slide out of bed. Werepack Prep is a school on the other side of the Enchanted Forest. It's where all the shapeshifters go. I look over to my left, and notice that my sister's bed is empty. She must've left early to get some swords and shields practice in. Jay made her team captain last week, and I couldn't be more happy for her. Our parents were so proud when she told them the good news over the phone. Speaking of phones, I grab mine from my nightstand, and watch the screen come to life. It looks like I got a text message from Jane. Her and her mom are in charge of the welcoming committee. "Hey Mei! I don't mean to bother you... I just wanted to remind you to please be at the courtyard by 8:30. The WKs are supposed to arrive at 9:00.", Jane's text read. I can't help but softly laugh. Jane's really sweet, and also pretty shy. She's come out of her shell more ever since Mal and her friends arrived, but she's still pretty timid when it comes to giving directions to people.

  
 

 

     "You could never bother me, Jane. I'll be at the courtyard at 8:30 sharp, see you there. :)", I type. I slide out of bed after I hit send. I stifle a yawn as I put my slippers on. I slowly make my way over to the bathroom. I signed up to be a part of the welcoming committee as soon as I found out we accepting more new students. I briefly glance at my reflection in the mirror, then turn on the faucet. I wanted to sign up last time, but my sister wouldn't let me. She insisted that villain kids were 'dangerous'. I grab my toothbrush and toothpaste. Then I brush my teeth. She of course changed her tune after realizing how nice the kids from the Isle can actually be. After I brush my teeth, I decide to take a quick shower. My sister EVEN has a crush on Jay, but she denies it of course. At least, she denies it when I ask her. I'm really glad Lonnie found someone she likes, especially since that person is Jay. He's a really great guy, and he's extremely supportive of her. They're really cute together. I finish up my shower, and slip on my bath robe. Then I leave my bathroom, and walk over to my closet. My sister does still have her reservations about me being on the welcoming committee though. No one here at Auradon Prep has ever met a shapeshifter before, let alone shared a classroom with one. I throw on a cute outfit; a white shirt short sleeved dress shirt, an orange pencil skirt that has a koi fish pattern on it, black open toed strappy kitten heels, and an aqua blue tear drop necklace and earrings.

  
 

 

     I'm sure shapeshifters aren't THAT different from the rest of us. They just, have a few extra talents that we don't. I walk over to my vanity, then do my hair and makeup. I style my hair in a slightly messy updo bun. After that I tackle my makeup. I don't really know much about the new students. All I know is that they're all from the same pack, and the trio consists of two boys and one girl. I decide to go for a more natural and minimalistic makeup look; a nude lip, light nude shadows, a bit of highlighter, and mascara. I smile at my reflection after I'm done. I stand up, grab my phone and backpack, then head out the door. I double check to make sure the door's locked. Lonnie always complains that I forget to do that all the time. I don't really get why it'd be necessary to lock the door when neither of us is inside. All the girls that live in the dorms next to us are super nice, they wouldn't enter our room without our permission. "I really hope my keys are in my bag.", I mumble. I slide my back off my shoulders, and open the 1st compartment. I let out a sigh of relief when I immediately see my keys inside. I should really remember to check for my keys before I lock the door. I let out a soft chuckle as I slide my backpack back onto my shoulders. I walk down the hallway, waving and smiling at people as I pass by. Everyone returns the gesture. I exit the dorm building, then pull out my phone to check the time.

 

 

     
      It looks like I just barely have enough time to briskly walk to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. I reach the cafeteria, and quickly get in line. I wonder what kind of shapeshifters the new students are. Werewolves are the most commonly heard of, but I've heard that all kinds of shapeshifters go to Werepack Prep. The line starts to move up as I glance at my phone. Okay, I still have time. I hope they'll still have some double chocolate chip muffins left. I glance over my shoulder after I here the cafeteria doors swing open. The entire swords and shields team files into the cafeteria, making the breakfast line twice as long. Wow, boy am I glad I got here before they did. I wouldn't mind waiting behind them if I didn't have to be at the courtyard in about 10 minutes. I reach the front of the line, and let out a sigh of relief. There's 8 double chocolate chip muffins left. "Hey Mei!", I hear my sister say. I turn around and see her at the very end of the line, waving at me. I immediately smile and wave back. "Hey Lonnie! How was swords and shields practice?", I ask. "Exhausting, I can't wait to get my hands on a double chocolate chip muffin.", Lonnie says. I giggle at her statement. We both have a thing for chocolate. "Mmmm. That sounds SO GOOD right now. I think I'll have one too.", Jay says while smiling at my sister. Awww, that's so cute. Jay also happens to have a thing for chocolate, it's one of the many things he has in common with Lonnie. "Agreed, I shall have one as well.", another member of the team says.

 

 

       
      Pretty soon, the entire team agrees that they ALL want a double chocolate chip muffin. I sigh, and walk up to the selections. "Good morning Susan, you look lovely today.", I say. Susan, one of the cooks, gives me a warm smile. "Good morning to you as well, Mei. Don't you look absolutely stunning, today. You've made it here just in time, we've still got plenty of double chocolate chip muffins left.", Susan says. I glance in the teams' direction, then look back at Susan. "Thank you, Susan. I think I'll have a blueberry muffin today though.", I reply. Susan gives me a slightly confused look. "Really? I thought double chocolate chip muffins were your favorite?" she says. I give her a soft smile. "They are, you make the BEST double chocolate chip muffins ever.", I say. She glance in the teams' direction, and does a quick head count. Then she looks back at me, giving me a knowing smile. She grabs a blueberry muffin, and wraps it in a napkin before handing it to me. "Thank you.", I say as I accept the muffin. She gives me a warm smile and a nod. I walk towards the cash register, grabbing an apple juice on the way. I reach the register, then set my muffin and juice down. I slip my bag off my shoulders, and take my wallet out. "Good morning Sherry, you're looking as beautiful as always.", I say. Sherry smiles at me, then says, "That'll be $2.50." I smile as I hand her the exact amount. I slip my wallet back into my bag, and slip my bag back onto my shoulders.

 

 

  
      I grab my muffin and juice, then briskly leave the cafeteria. I pass by Hazel, and I smile at her. "Hey, fellow OC.", she says to me. Huh? "What's an OC?", I ask her. I throws her head back and laughs. "Don't ya worry ya're pretty lil head about that.", she says. She skips away. I eat my muffin as I walk towards the court yard, and stop next to a nearby trash can. I open and drink all my juice, then toss the muffin wrapper and empty bottle into the trash can. I walk past Adam's morphing statue, and soon reach a flustered looking Jane. Jane lets out an audible sigh of relief as she sees me. "I was worried you wouldn't make it on time! I mean, I got your text message, but I was still a little worried that-", Jane rambles. I abruptly cut her off with a hug. I feel her body relax as she hugs me back. I slowly let go, and give her a calm and reassuring smile. "It's okay, Jane. I'm sorry I made you worry.", I soothe. I check my phone, and it reads 8:30 exactly. I show this to Jane, and she looks a tad bit embarrassed. I give her another smile. "Hey, it's okay. I know how stressful this has being for you, and I know how important this event is to you. I'd be anxious too if I were in your shoes.", I say. Even though her mom and her are in charge of the welcoming committee, Jane's been doing most of the planning and organizing. Fairy Godmother put a lot of faith and trust in her, and really let Jane take the reins on this one. I relieved smile forms across her face.

 

 

  
      "Yeah, things have been pretty intense lately.", Jane admits as I nod in agreement. I feel bad for her. She could really use a break from all this organizing and planning. "Hey, why don't you let me help with the tour? I'll show them their rooms, and hand them their schedules.", I offer. The look of uncertainly flashes across Jane's face. "I don't see a problem with you helping with the tour, but I'm supposed to show the WKs their rooms and schedules.", Jane says. I let out a soft sigh. It looks like I'm going to have to talk Jane into this. "I know you are, but you've already done so much. You deserve a break, Jane. Hey, you could even use this new free time to finally go on that date with Carlos.", I say. A deep blush spreads across Jane's face. Carlos and Jane started dating last week, and I couldn't be happier for them. Carlos is a sweet guy, and his personality is actually pretty similar to Jane's. It's one of the things that make them compatible. Yet with Jane planning the welcome reception for the new students, she actually hasn't had the time to go on a date with Carlos. "I-I don't know a-about all that.", Jane stammers. I smile at her. I pull out my phone, and message Carlos. "Hey Carlos, I'm taking over some of Jane's responsibilities involving the new students. So she'll have the entire afternoon off. I figured you two could take advantage of that, and finally go on that date.", my text message said.

  
 

 

     A minute later, Carlos replies. "Really? That's awesome! Thank you so much Mei! I'll start getting things ready.", Carlos' text read. I immediately reply with, "It's no problem. Have fun! :)" I slip my phone back into my pocket, then direct my attention towards Jane. "I texted Carlos and told him you'd have the afternoon off. He seemed really excited.", I say. Jane giggles, and tries to hide her blush. "Of course he was. He's being DYING to take me out on a picnic date all week.", Jane giggles. I can't help but smile and giggle with her. That's so adorable. Fairy Godmother walks up to us, and sends a warm smile my way. I return it with just as much warmth. "Hello there, Mei. Thank you so much for volunteering to help with the welcoming committee.", Fairy Godmother says. I beam at her statement. Fairy Godmother just has this way of making everyone around her feel happy and good. "Hey mom. Mei's actually offered to help with the tour, and show the new students to their dorms and hand them their schedules.", Jane says. Fairy Godmother flashes Jane a smile, and gives me an understanding nod. "I don't suppose you'll use this free time to finally go on that date Carlos has been trying to take you on?" Fairy Godmother asks. Even though she asks, I can tell she already knows the answer. "Mom!", Jane exclaims. Jane quickly walks over to King Ben and Lady Mal. I give Fairy Godmother a nod before joining her, then Fairy Godmother soon follows.

  
 

 

     Minutes later, the limo slowly pulls into the driveway. I feel metaphorical butterflies flutter around in my stomach. I don't know why I'm feeling slightly nervous. I actually really like meeting new people, and making new friends. The limo driver, Gus, gets out of the driver's seat, and makes his way over to the back of the limo. I wonder what they'll look like, what they'll act like. I always tend to wonder that about new people. Gus opens the passenger door, and a girl slowly steps out. Wow, she's quite beautiful. Her dark brown hair's in one braid that's moved to the side, a stark contrast to her light colored eyes. She moves to stand near the limo as one of the boys' climb out next. Her movements seems very stiff and controlled, and her face remains neutral. The next boy that steps out is pretty handsome. His golden blonde hair really compliments his blue eyes. I walks over to where the girl's standing, and moves to stand next to her. His posture and movements seem much more relaxed. He seems to have a rather happy expression on his face. He leans in to whisper something into the girl's ears. Her expression quickly changes from a neutral one, to an amused one. Then, the last boy finally steps out. As soon as I see him, me heart stutters in my chest. His has golden blonde hair and blue eyes just like the other boy, and he's just as handsome, if not more so. He moves to stand on the other side of the girl as Gus closes the door and drives away. His glaze seems so cold, yet I have this warm feeling building inside of me. I lean towards Jane and shakily whisper in her ear, "W-who's t-that?".

* * *


	2. First Impressions

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Cato's POV:**

 

 

     Today's the 'big day', I guess. Around a week ago, his 'royal highness' decided to give us WKs the 'honor' of going to his snooty boarding school. Well, 3 of us WKs, to be exact. Any more of us would probably be more than they could handle. I'm actually surprised 'King' Ben even decided to include us this time. I still don't know how US going to THEIR school alines with his personal interests. Ben's entire goal as 'King' has been to integrate kids from The Isle Of The Lost into Auradon, to give them a chance to have an actually nice life. To break the  stereotype of, 'your parents define who you are'. Shapeshifters on the other hand, have an entirely different reputation of our own. Normal people don't like us, but they don't necessarily hate us either. "W-who's t-that?", some girl whispers. That breaks my train of thought. Doesn't she mean who're THEY? Or was she only referring to 1 of us? I glance over in this girl's direction while Ben does his welcoming speech. Our eyes lock instantly, so she was assumingly talking about me. I have to bite back a growl. I hate it when normies like her talk about my pack and me behind our backs. Sure, she was just wondering who we were specifically, but that's how it starts. Pretty soon she'll be whispering accusations and lies about us. She's probably a prissy AK, I can tell from the way she's dressed. She's also either Asian, or appropriating their culture.

* * *

 

 

 

 

**Mei's POV:**

 

 

     Jane's either too enthralled by King Ben's speech to respond, or she doesn't want to risk interrupting him. The boy in question glances over in our direction at the exact moment I was, not so subtly, staring at him. We make eye contact before he disinterestedly looks away. My breath catches in my throat, and for some reason I almost feel slightly hurt at his facial expression. Do I really look that plain and boring? I know I don't always dress as edgy or glamorous as the other students, but I thought I looked pretty cute today. I quickly look down at myself. I guess it wouldn't hurt to spice things up a bit wardrobe wise? Well, so much for first impressions. Everyone around me start to leave in different directions. King Ben's speech must be over. Oh man, did I really space out for that long? I look over at Jane, and see her uncomfortably shift. She tends to be rather shy when it comes to meeting new people, especially when those people don't have the best reputation. I remember how nervous she was when Lady Mal, Princess Evie, Jay, and Carlos 1st transferred here. I hope she still won't be nervous when more kids from the Isle get here. "So, do you want to introduce yourself before I take over?", I ask Jane. She shifts he attention towards me, and she looks slightly on edge. She takes a deep breath and starts to nod her head. "Yeah, yeah. I feel as if I should. I AM head of the welcoming committee after all.", she says. I softly smile at her.

* * *

 

 

 

 

**Cato's POV:**

 

 

     GOD. Ben's speech was SO boring and generic. He probably recited the exact same one, with a few minor adjustments, to the VKs. He goes in for a hand shake, I quirk my brow at him and scoff. His plastered on smile slightly falters as he quickly retracts his hand. He goes to shake Katniss's hand, she reluctantly allows it. I can feel the annoyance radiating off her. She doesn't want to be here just as much as I do. Then he moves onto Peeta, and Peeta gladly accepts his handshake, because he's the nicest and most polite shapeshifter that ever existed. He's radiating more of a 'I'm bored' energy. Whether he admits it to me or not, he doesn't want to be here either. My father made us accept, he thought it would be a great opportunity to work on our relations with the Auradonians. He also thought it'd be a great chance for me to work on my diplomacy skills. My father's the Alpha of 1 of the major packs on the opposite side of the Enchanted Forest. Our pack also happens to be 1 of the only packs that include all types of shapeshifters, a mixed pack. There are other smaller packs, pure packs, that are comprised entirely of the exact same type of shapeshifter, they don't believe in mixing 'species'. So us accepting Ben's invitation, is inadvertently undermining their beliefs even further than we already have. Which is about the only other plus side. We've been at odds with the pure packs lately. They keep trying to force their values and opinions onto us, with I loathe. We don't tell them how to live their lives, so they shouldn't tell us how to live ours.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

 

     We start making our way over to them just as King Ben's finishing up. Oh good, I'd hate to interrupt him. As soon as he sees us, he'll no doubt cut himself off to introduce us. Lady Mal quickly jogs to catch up with us, and falls into step with Jane. "So Jane, I hear that Carlos is finally taking you out on that date.", she says. This makes Jane stop dead in her tracks, while I giggle as I slow to a stop. Jane tries to hide her blush, but immediately fails. Which makes Lady Mal grin. "Who told you?", she asks. Lady Mal's grin widens. "Carlos was absolutely GUSHING about it in our VK group chat.", Lady Mal responds. That honestly doesn't surprise me. Carlos has liked Jane ever since King Ben's coronation. Jane just wasn't perceptive enough to catch on until he asked her to be his date for cotillion. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised about that.", Jane giggles. Gosh, Jane and Carlos are always so cute when they gush about each other. "He also told us that Mei over here is taking 1 for the team, and is taking over touring duty. Which means that you can technically leave right now, to get ready.", Lady Mal says. Ah, I bet Lady Mal's planning on whisking her away to her and Princess Evie's dorm so Princess Evie can work her makeup and fashion magic on Jane. "Well, I mean, technically yes, but-", Jane starts until I cut her off. "But nothing, you'll have plenty of time to introduce yourself later. I'm sure they'll understand. It's okay, I've got this.", I say to Jane. I look over at Lady Mal. "She's all yours, Lady Mal.", I say. Lady Mal playfully rolls her eyes at me while nudging my arm with her elbow. "How many times do I have to tell you, just call me Mal.", she scolds.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

 

     As Peeta's shaking 'his royal highness' hand, the girl that was whispering about one of us starts walking over here with her friend. Great. It looks like her friend's holding a clipboard. Oh God, she's probably our tour guide. Her clothes look like the Headmistress's, so she must be her daughter. Auradonians have this weird thing about dressing in their parents favorite colors and styles. It's like they've never heard of individuality, yet they're pushing the whole 'our parents don't define us' thing. Ben's girlfriend, 'Lady' Mal, jogs to catch up with them. I look over at my packmates. It looks like those girls have Katniss's attention, so naturally Peeta looks in that direction too. Ben's mainly focused on Mal. I can feel the love and affection he has for her radiate off him in strong waves. Katniss shifts slightly away from him, she definitely feels it. Peeta has a goofy grin on his face, so I know he feels it. I roll my eyes, Peeta is such a hopeless romantic. Mal soon drags the headmistress's daughter, Jane, away to do girly stuff to prepare her for her date with some guy named Carlos. Not before Jane hands her clipboard to that girl, who's apparently named Mei. Yeah, definitely Asian. Of course she'd be our tour guide. She walks the rest of the way over to us with an annoyingly warm smile plastered across her face. As she gets closer I can feel the happiness and excitement she's feeling. Seriously, that smile's genuine? Why would she be excited to be saddled with us?

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

 

      After Jane reluctantly hands me her clipboard, she lets Lady Mal drag her away. I smile as I watch them go for a moment. I wonder what that's like, being in love... I turn around, and walk over to King Ben and the new students. Oh, this is so exciting! I've never given a tour before, or showed anyone where their dorms are, or given anyone their schedules. I really hope we can all be friends! I just love making new friends. As soon as I'm standing in front of them, King Ben introduces me. "Everyone, this is Mei, the 2nd daughter of Mulan and Shang. She'll be your tour guide for today, and she'll be giving you your class schedules. So if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask her.", King Ben says. I have to hold back a sigh. I don't mind being the '2nd daughter', but I do mind being introduced that way. It can't be, 'the daughter of', since I'm not an only child. Why can't it be, '1 of the daughters'? I suppose because then people would ask how many siblings I actually had. The title '2nd daughter' just feels a lot like the title '2nd best' is all... My smile slightly falters, but I keep it steady to the best of my ability. I'd feel horrible about correcting King Ben in front of these new students, and I'd hate to make him concerned if he notices my expression shift. He thankfully doesn't notice. I nod my head in the direction Lady Mal went. "Go ahead, I've got this. You should enjoy this extra free time while you can, King Ben.", I joke. King Ben lightly chuckles. "I've told you before, Mei, you don't have to call me by my title.", Ben replies.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

 

     This girl is way too easy to figure out. She calls everyone by their respected title. She was raised to be polite, and is a people pleaser. Her happy go lucky expression slightly falter when Ben mentioned the fact that she's the younger sister of Mulan and Shang's daughter, inadvertently making her 2nd best by default. She's overshadowed by her sister, making her desperate for validation. She's no doubt riddled with insecurities. Ben soon leaves, probably to go spend more time with his girlfriend. I honestly don't see the big appeal of being in a relationship this early on in life. I can't see myself settling down this quickly. The fact is, when you start dating someone, you're either going to get married and spend the rest of your lives together, or you're going to break up. Besides, my future's already all planned out for me. As luck would have it, I'm an alpha, like my father. So I'm destined to take over as pack leader. Our pack is pretty lenient about Alpha, Betta, and Omega intermatings, but a pack leader's mate must be an Alpha as well. 1 of the strongest and most suited for the responsibilities that come with being the mate of a pack leader. I'm 'free' to select any Alpha, but it's pretty obvious that the choice has already been predetermined for me years ago. My friend Clove, is one of the strongest Alphas around. She's agile, clever, and everything my father's told me my mate should be.

  
 

 

      Everyone already knows I'll choose her, even Clove knows. Had Katniss been an Alpha, and I might've considered her for the position. She's the best Betta we have, and I don't think I'd have it any other way. Peeta's the sweetest Omega who ever lived. He contrasts Katniss quite nicely, and they really balance each other out. They started dating a few years back, they got married and officially became mates 3 months ago. I wonder if they'll get separate dorms or not. I pull my mind back to the situation at hand. "It's so nice to meet all of you! Like King Ben said, I'm Mei. May I know all of your names, please?", she politely asks. I have a feeling she'll get along swimmingly with Peeta. Speaking of Peeta, he gives her a warm smile as he steps up to shake her hand. She returns the smile with just as much enthusiasm as she shakes his hand. "I'm Peeta, it's nice to meet you too.", Peeta says. I roll my eyes, and Katniss snorts. Peeta steps back, and Mei looks expectantly at Katniss. "Katniss", she states without moving from her spot. The girl smiles just as warmly at her as she did with Peeta. Huh, her smile should've faltered at Katniss's lack of enthusiasm. Then she looks over at me, I quirk my brow at her. "What're you looking at?", I say. I don't ask, I SAY. Her smile drops and she quickly blinks a few times. She must've been expecting the same response as Katniss's. "Cato.", Peeta scolds. Katniss shoots Peeta a 'it's fine, just leave it' look. Mei quickly looks down. "Ah, sorry. It's just, I didn't know your name yet.", she apologizes. Did she seriously just apologize? She'd definitely be an Omega if she were a shapeshifter.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

 

      Peeta seems really nice, I bet we'll be great friends. Katniss seems rather standoffish. Once we get to know each other better, I'm sure we'll hit it off. Cato, or I'm assuming that's his name since Peeta called him that, I'm not too sure about. He doesn't seem to like me for some reason. Did I do something wrong to offend him in some way? "Peeta just said it, or are you deaf?", Cato snaps. So his name definitely is Cato. What's his problem? Maybe he's just having a rough day. It must be hard to leave your friends and family behind to go to a new school. I'm glad he's not doing it alone. "I'm not deaf.", I calmly say. "I'm so sorry about him. He's just being grumpy.", Peeta apologizes. It looks like Cato's about to object, so I beat him to it. "It's perfectly fine. I don't blame him for being a little on edge. I'm sure I would be too if I was in his shoes.", I say. Peeta gives me a grateful smile, and Katniss looks a little less stiff. I don't dare glance at Cato, I'd hate to upset him even more than he already is. "Okay, let's start the tour then, shall we?", I ask. Peeta and Katniss nod in agreement. As we walk through the schoolgrounds, I point towards different buildings and explain what they are. We pass by Adam's morphing statue, and I clap my hands. Peeta jumps, and Katniss looks slightly confused. Cato looks bored and unimpressed. I explain why the statue morphs, then move on with the tour. Soon enough we reach the dormitory. I stop at the 2 main sets of stairs.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

 

      Of course Peeta would try and apologize on my behalf. He'd definitely got his diplomacy skills down pat. I somehow manage to make it through her extremely boring tour without snapping at her again. We finally enter the school's dormitory, and she leads us to 2 sets of stairs. "Here's our last stop. Your dorms are just up the staircase to your left. Here are your class schedules, and your dorm numbers are on here as well. If you have any questions about anything, please come find me. I'll answer them to my best ability.", she says as she's handing us our schedules. God, I bet she practiced that little statement. "Thank you.", Peeta says. Before she can say 'you're welcome', I butt in. "You don't have to thank her, Peeta. It's her job to do all this.", I say before ascending the stairs. I hear Peeta bounding up the stairs after me, followed by Katniss. He catches up with me in the hallway. "Hey! What's your problem, anyway?", Peeta says. I go to shove my pointer finger into his chest, but Katniss quickly blocks me. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, and Peeta's got a point by the way. We're not here to make enemies, this is a diplomacy mission, remember?", Katniss says in an attempt to appeal to my voice of reason. I let out a deep sigh. "Yes, I do concede that Peeta and you both have very good points. Didn't you hear that girl whisper 'who's that', earlier?", I ask. Peeta might not have, due to him actually listening to what Ben had to say, but Katniss had to have heard it.

  
 

 

     She's usually on high alert, especially in situations where we're surrounded by complete strangers. She lets out a snort. "Of course I heard it. I'm guessing you figured out she was referring to you?", she asks. "When did she say that?", Peeta asks from behind Katniss. She turns slightly to address him. "When Ben was giving his well rehearsed welcoming speech.", she replies. I let out a light chuckle. "So I'm guessing that neither of you actually listened to what Ben had to say?", he asks. I purposefully radiate a 'I mean no harm' vibe, as I push Katniss over to the side so I can actually see Peeta again. "Do you even have to ask?", I fired back at him. "Well YOU could've asked me to move over instead of shoving me.", Katniss grumbles. I smile at her. This is why we're friends, and since Peeta hangs around her all the time, I ended up becoming friends with him as well. "Come on, let's go find our dorms.", I say. We all look at each others' papers, and it looks like Peeta and I are sharing a dorm. "Why do you get to share a dorm with Peeta?", Katniss whines. She can be such a child sometimes. "Most schools like to keeps the guys separate from the girls to prevent 'inappropriate' behavior, married or not.", Peeta says. I think her statement was more of a complaint than an actual question she wanted answered. Katniss rolls her eyes, and gives Peeta a quick peck on the lips. "Whatever, I'm gonna go find my dorm. See you guys later.", she says. Peeta has the goofiest grin on his face. "I'll miss you.", he says. GOD. I loathe PDA. "Get a room you 2.", I joke. "If only we could.", Katniss snaps before stopping down the hallway. "And you say I'm grumpy.", I say to Peeta. He smiles fondly at Katniss's retreating form, and the love radiating off him is so strong, I actually have to start walking down the hallway to get away from it.

* * *


	3. You Won't

 

 

 

**Mei's POV:**

 

 

     I lightly sigh as I watch Peeta run after Cato. Katniss trails behind them both. I look down at my now empty clipboard. Cato seems more than just grumpy, he seems upset with me. I start to ascend the opposite staircase. I just don't understand what I did wrong. I'd go apologize, if I didn't think it'd make him even angrier. Maybe it has something to with me not so subtly staring at him earlier. That surely must have made him uncomfortable. I reach the top of the stairs, and slowly move down the hallway. I clutch the clipboard tightly to my chest. I hate it when people stare at me, I know they're judging me when they do. That might've been how Cato felt. No oh, I really feel terrible now. I wasn't judging him at all! I was just, admiring him. He's the most attractive boy I've ever seen... I quickly shake my head and quickly walk the rest of the way towards my room. I can't have thoughts like that, for several reasons. Him and his friends are only staying for a short amount of time here. Even if they were staying for much longer, there's no way a guy like him would be interested in me. I fish my keys out of my bag, and unlock the door to the room I share with my sister. My sister... I'm not like my sister, I don't radiate confidence. I'm not NEARLY as brave as her, I'm such a push over. I'm not a skilled fighter like her, I'm not skilled in anything really. I'm definitely not a clever quick thinker like she is, in a do or die situation I'd be toast. I'm not even close to be as pretty as she is.

 

 

 

     Our parents our always SO proud of her, and I am too of course. She's so talented and amazing, she deserves all the recognition she can get. It's just a little hard to watch sometimes... I have to blink back a few tears before opening the door. If my sister's in there, and she sees me crying, she'll hound me until I tell her what's wrong. I'd lie of course, as always, and just claim that I watched a sad video on my phone minutes before coming back to our room. She'd believe me, or at least act like she believes me, and drop the subject. Sure enough, as soon as I open the door I'm greeted by my sister. I plaster on a smile as I shut the door behind me, I don't bother locking it though. I'm sure she'll be leaving pretty soon anyway. "Hey Lonnie!", I brightly say. It looks like she just got changed out of her practice gear. "Hey Mei. I was just about to go hang out with Mal, Evie, and Jane before she goes on her big date. You can tag along if you'd like.", Lonnie offers. I walk over to my side of the room, and place my bag on a nearby chair. "Thank you for the offer, that sounds fun, but I have some home work that I really need to get done.", I reply. She slowly shakes her head with an amused look on her face. "You know, there is more to life than homework.", she teases. I nod in response. She sighs, then grabs her coin purse, and heads for the door. "Okay, I'll see you later then.", she calls on her way out.

* * *

 

 

 

 

**Cato's POV:**

 

 

     Peeta likely jogs to catch up with me. Together we make our way down the hall, keeping an eye out for our room number. A few doors later, and we're standing in front of the room we'll be spending the next few months living in. We're not staying here for very long, just the semester. That's all I can tolerate. Especially if everyone else at this school is as prissy as that one girl, Mei. Ugh, even her name sounds prissy. I twist the doorknob, and thankfully the door's unlocked. I'd hate to have to track HER down to find out where we're supposed to get our room keys. I step inside, and Peeta follows close behind me. He shuts the door as I walk over to one of the beds on the left. The room looks pretty standard, 2 beds, closets, dressers, and a another door to what I'm assuming is a bathroom. Peeta walks over to the bed on the right, and tosses his bag down. He lets out a light chuckle. I turn towards him, and quirk my brow. He looks over at me as he sits down on the bed. "Wow, I can't believe we're actually here.", he says. I roll my eyes, and focus my attention towards my duffel bag. "Yeah, don't remind me.", I quip. Peeta laughs at that. He's always found Katniss pretty amusing, so since Katniss and I do have a similar sense of humor, I amuse him as well. I unzip my duffel bag, and start unpacking. I hear the sheets slightly rustle. Peeta must've lied down. "If you would've told me a few years ago that we'd be here in Auradon, as STUDENTS, I would've thought that you were insane.", Peeta says.

 

 

 

     I let out a snort. After I pull all of my clothes out of my duffel bag, I walk over to the closet. "I would've thought I was insane too.", I reply. I open the closet, and set my now empty duffel bag on a shelf at the top. "You know, it really wouldn't kill you to be friendlier towards people.", Peeta starts. I roll my eyes, and grab a few hangers from the rack. I make my way over to my bed once again, and start unfolding some of my clothes. "Shouldn't you be unpacking?", I ask. Ever since I've met Peeta, he's been on my case about being nicer to everyone, not just my close friends and family. I don't get why I should be, why I should change. Why do I have to change who I am, how I act, just to please other people? "I can always unpack later. Don't try to change the subject Cato.", Peeta says. Peeta's one of the few Omegas in our pack that actually has the balls to call me out on shit. I admire that about him, he stands his ground when he feels that it's necessary. He's not a total push over like some of the other Omegas I know. "I'm not changing the subject. We both know that as soon as Katniss texts you the go signal, you'll use a teleportation spell to poof into her room, and you'll be gone for the rest of the day.", I say. Peeta immediately sits up. "You are too changing the subject, and I'm not-", Peeta starts. "Then by the time you poof back here, you'll be too exhausted to unpack. You'll keep putting it off, and show up to school the entire week with wrinkled mismatched clothes.", I cut Peeta off to say.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

 

     I appreciate Lonnie trying to include me when she hangs out with her friends, I really do, but I just hate being the 'third wheel' of the group. I unzip my backpack, and pull out the history paper I've been working on over the weekend. I don't really have very many friends to be honest, so I tend to keep to myself. It's not like I don't want to go out with friends and have fun, I wish I could, but no one's ever invited me out before. "I really need to focus on finishing this paper anyway, it's due tomorrow after all.", I say to myself. I'd never want to be where I'm not wanted. If Lady Mal, Princess Evie, and Jane wanted me to hang out them, they would've invited me. I take out one of my mechanical pencils, and move all my paperwork and necessary tools to my small desk. I'm not extremely smart, but I'm stupid either. I get A's and B's in all my classes, because I put time and effort into studying. I turn on my lamp, and open up my history textbook. I try to focus on the facts I'm trying to get my brain to absorb, but it's like this textbook was written in a different language. Lonnie on the other hand, was born smart. She has a great memory, and always seems to get whatever lessons we're taught right away. She finished her history paper yesterday. We both started on our papers at the exact same time. I quickly shake my head. Getting side tracked by thinking about my sister isn't going to help me finish this paper anytime soon.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

 

     Peeta rolls his eyes, and slowly slides off of his bed. With an annoyed groan, he slowly unzips his duffel bag. He pulls a shirt out, unfolds it, and drops it on the bed. Then he looks over at me. "Happy now?", he asks. I start putting some of my clothes on the hangers. "Yes, very.", I say in the most monotone voice I can muster. Peeta starts laughing, and I soon join him. He starts pulling out more clothes while I hang up the ones I've already fixed. "Seriously though, what's your deal with Mei anyway?", he probes. I slam the rest of the clothes I was holding onto the rack and stomp back over to my bed. "I don't know what you mean.", I snap. Peeta really managed to kill my slightly better mood in 0.5 seconds. The last thing I want to talk about is her. "Yeah, that's why you almost broke your closet rack then stomped back to your bed like an angry 5 year old just now.", Peeta quips. I let out a snort. Jesus, Katniss is really starting to rub off on Peeta. I start gathering up my underwear, socks, and pjs. "Come on, Cato. I KNOW you. I know when something's bothering you. Are you really just upset because she asked someone who you were?", Peeta asks. A really strong 'I care about you' vibe rolls off Peeta. I walk over to the dresser, and put away my sleeping clothes and undergarments. I close all the drawers then let out a sigh. "You're not gonna let this go, are you?", I ask him. I hear a snap. I turn around, and it's immediately clear that Peeta used a spell to magically sort, fold, and hang all of his clothes. "You know me so well.", he jokes.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

 

     After around 10 minutes of staring at the same page, I let out a frustrated whine. For some reason, I just can't seem to focus. Well, not some reason, A reason. 1 to be specific, Cato. I won't have a piece of mind until I properly apologize. I don't care if that makes even madder, as least then I could say that I really tried. I rise, shut off my lamp, and push my chair in. I better leave my textbook open to the page I was last on, knowing me I'll probably forget the page number. "I wonder if I should change clothes? That wouldn't be weird, right? I mean, people do change their clothes all the time. Just usually not in the same day unless there's an event, or unless you're Princess Audrey. That'd be silly though, to go through all the effort of putting together another outfit just to go apologize to someone. Would that seem like I'm trying too hard?", I ramble to myself. I slowly take in a deep, steadying, breath. The clothes I have on right now are perfectly fine. It's not like I'll be staying for very long anyway. I'll just go in, apologize, then go out. After that I'll come right back here, finish up my paper, then figure out what to do if I end up having any free time left. I walk over to my bag, double check to make sure I have my keys, then zip up any open zippers. I don my bag, then slowly make my way to the door. My heart starts beating faster, and I can already feel a pit forming in my stomach. Gosh, I'm being so silly right now. I've never had difficulty apologizing before, I've done it quite often. I tend to bump into people a lot. So why should this be any different from all of those times?

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

 

     I let out a light chuckle. Peeta sits down, next pats the spot next to him. A silent invitation for me to join him. I begrudgingly make my way over to him, and carefully sit on the bed. We make eye contact. I let out another sigh. "What do you wanna hear that I haven't already said? I didn't like her whispering about me. I ALSO didn't like her staring at me either.", I say. He slightly quirks his brow. "She was staring at you too?", he asks. I snort. Isn't that what I just said. "Oh, right, you just said that. Well, we are new after all. People are bound to stare and ask who we are.", Peeta reasons. Don't tell me you're really DEFENDING her right now, just because she was SEEMINGLY nice. "There was no WE though. She asked who I was while staring at ME. She singled me out for some reason. It's not like she knew my dad's the leader, if she knew that, she wouldn't be asking who I am.", I snap. Peeta seems to consider my words for a moment. "Okay, well maybe she asked about you and stared because she l-", Peeta starts. A soft knocking on our door interrupts him. I shoot Peeta a questioning glance. He shrugs his shoulders. It's probably Katniss, but Peeta would've been expecting her if it was. Or maybe it's Ben checking up on us to make sure we haven't trashed the place yet. I jump up and waltz over to the door. Well, at least that temporarily gets me out of that conversation about HER. I swing the door open, to be greeted by the LAST person I wanted to see.

* * *

 

 

 

 

**Mei's POV:**

 

 

     I step into the hallway, shutting and locking the door behind me. I stroll down the hallway and stairs, smiling and waving at everyone I pass by. Princess Audrey meets me at the bottom of the stairs, with Prince Chad standing behind her. I smile at them, but before I can greet them Princess Audrey interrupts me. "Out of my way, loser.", she barks while pushing me to the side. She bounds past me. Prince Chad looks at me with disgust, I look down and scoot closer to the wall. He takes a step closer to me. "Yeah, loser!", he sneers. "Chad!", Princess Audrey screams. His head snaps in the direction of her voice. "Coming Audrey!", he exclaims before careening up the staircase. I don't dare to move until I'm positive they're gone. I exhale a shaky breath, and slowly move towards the other staircase. Princess Audrey and Prince Chad can be a bit, intense, sometimes. I'm sure they were just in a hurry, maybe they have some homework they need to get done too. I'm sure they didn't mean the whole loser thing either, my name can be challenging to pronounce. Especially if you're just looking at the spelling of it. I climb the staircase, and stop once I reach the top. I quickly blink a few times to clear my slightly cloudy vision. "Yeah, I'm sure that's it.", I whisper. I walk down the hallway, looking back and forth to make sure I don't accidently walk past their room. I saw Cato and Peeta's room number on the top of the paperwork I handed them. Soon enough I reach their room. I take 1 more deep breath, then knock.

* * *

 

 

 

**Cato's POV:**

 

 

     Does this girl have the ability to sense when someone's talking about her or something? She smiles at me, and I roll my eyes. "What do you want?", I ask her. I hear Peeta stand up, and start to walk over to us. She looks down and starts fiddling with her hands. Oh come on, hurry up and spit it out already. Before Peeta sees you and invites you in. The last thing I want is her scent lingering around in our room. "Well?", I snap. I hear Peeta speed up, and he's by my side in an instant. Damn it. "Hey Mei!", he exclaims. Her head shoots up, and that dumb smile appears on her face again. "Hello Peeta, it's nice to see you, both of you. I, um, was wondering if all of you were settling in okay?", she asks. Even though she's brightly smiling, and speaking in a sickly nice tone of voice, her nervous energy is radiating off of her. Does she think I'm going to yell at her for bothering us? I mean, I'd be tempted to if Peeta wasn't here right now. "It's really good to see you too. We're settling in fine, thank you. Would you like to come in?", Peeta offers. My head snaps in his direction, and I narrow my eyes at him. I KNEW IT, I KNEW HE WAS GOING TO DO THAT. He meets my gaze. "NO, no. It's fine, really. I'm sorry if I bothered you both at an inconvenient time. I just came to see how you were doing, and, I came to apologize for earlier. I'm sorry if my staring made you uncomfortable, it was rude of me. I just-", she starts.

* * *

 

 

 

**Mei's POV:**

 

 

     OH NO. I'd feel so awful if Cato and Peeta got into an argument because of me. I'll just apologize and walk away as quickly as possible. Cato's attention comes back to me. "You just WHAT?", he demands, effectively cutting me off. Peeta puts a hand on Cato's shoulder. I audibly swallow. Ugh, I should've kept rambling. I can't tell him the ACTUAL reason why I was staring. He quirks his brow at me. Peeta moves to stand in between us, but Cato puts an arm up, blocking him. Um um UM. WHAT DO I DO WHAT DO I SAY? THINK THINK THINK. "I don't know.", I whisper while looking at the floor. I hear him loudly step forward. My head snaps up, and my eyes widen. "CATO.", Peeta warns. Cato holds a hand up to silence him. "Yes you do. What were you going to say?", he demands. My breath starts increasing. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY? I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO HE WON'T ACCEPT THAT ANSWER. "Cato stop.", Peeta snaps. "Nothing really, I was just rambling on, really.", I quickly say. He steps even closer, I back up a bit. I'm not really scared, I'm more nervous than anything. Peeta tries to yank Cato back, but Cato shrugs him off. "Cato, you're scaring her, stop.", Peeta pleads. I start to shake my head. "No, what?", Cato immediately asks. "I'm not scared.", I whisper. He steps closer once again, but I stand my ground this time. "Well maybe you should be.", he darkly responds. I shake my head once again. "You won't hurt me.", I state.

* * *

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

 

     She's trying to put up this brave front, but she's even more nervous than she was before. She wasn't lying about not being scared though, there's not 1 ounce of fear in her aura. "Cato!", Peeta exclaims. I whip my head back, and growl at him. He's an Omega, there's no way he'll actually challenge me. He looks down. I scoff then turn back to the girl. "You almost sound sure of yourself.", I quip. She stands a little straighter, and her nervous energy dims a bit. A small spark of determination attempts to slide to the forefront. "I am sure of myself.", she claims. I scoff and roll my eyes. "Are you sure of me?", I ask. She looks slightly confused. The nervousness in her aura completely dissipates. Something I can't quite place at the moment emanates from her instead. "I'm not sure what you mean.", she says. Of course she's not. I forgot that most Auradonians have a lower IQ than Shapeshifters. "Are you sure that my intentions are good?", I ask. Hopefully she'll be able to understand my rephrased question. Her eyes meet mine. Huh, they're a deep brown. I was too busy despising her to notice. "I trust you.", she says.  That's what I was feeling from her a moment ago, trust. Why? Why trust me when all I've been towards you so far is rude and snappy? "Why?", I question. She lets out an exhale that almost sounds like a giggle. "Because you're a good person.", she explains. My eyebrows both arch up. I was not expecting her to say that. I hear someone stomping down the hallway at a decent speed. I look over in that direction, then chuckle once I see who it is.

* * *


	4. Lunch Tomorrow?

 

 

 

**Mei's POV:**

 

     Cato seems to come off as very abrasive and guarded, at least towards me that is, but I can tell he's a good person deep down. I look over to see what Cato' s laughing at. Katniss quickly walks over to us, and she looks really upset. Did something bad happen to her? I hope Princess Audrey wasn't too hard on her, Jane told me she begrudgingly agreed to share a room with Katniss. She made it really clear that she wasn't happy about it though. "Hi Katniss, it's good to see you again.", I greet. She shoots me a slight smile before grabbing Cato's arm, and dragging him into his dorm room. "Um, thanks for stopping by, and I'm really sorry about all this. Let's hang out later, okay?", Peeta asks. My eyes widen as I blink back the shock. People don't usually hang out with me unless they have to, excluding my sister of course. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, it's a nervous tick I have. "It's perfectly fine, you don't even have to apologize. Do you want to sit together during lunch tomorrow?", I offer. He nods his head and warmly smiles at me, I smile back just as warmly. "Great, we'll see you then, bye.", Peeta says before he immediately shuts the door. Huh, that went better than expected. I turn around and walk back to my dorm with a slight skip in my step. I take out my keys and unlock my door. I scan my room and notice that Lonnie's still gone. Well, at least I'll be able to finish my homework in peace. Whenever she comes back from hanging out with her friends, she usually brings a couple of them back with her. Which I'm perfectly fine with, but their boisterous laughter does makes it a little harder to concentrate on things like homework.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

     Katniss drags me into my dorm while Peeta, UGH, apologizes. I can't believe he's apologizing to HER. I mean, Peeta apologizes to everyone, so it's not too shocking. I Overhear Peeta offer to spend some time with her later to make up for my behavior or something. Excitement rolls off her as she dismisses Peeta's apology and basically asks him out on a lunch date. Peeta agrees and mentions that WE'LL see her tomorrow, then closes the door. "Excuse me, but, I don't remember either of us agreeing to eat lunch with her.", I immediately snap while gesturing to Katniss and I. She slaps my arm away. "What the fuck is wrong with you?", she snaps at me. I immediately let out an amused snort. "Katniss, language.", Peeta chides. Now it's Katniss' turn to let out an amused snort. "Since when has how I talk bothered you?", she asks him. That's a fair question. Katniss has always been one to speak her mind, and has never shied away from using 'offensive' language. "It's doesn't, but you know how PG Auradonians are. So we better start practicing now.", Peeta reasons. I roll my eyes. I'm not changing anything about myself to fit in with these stuck up royals. "I guess you do have a point there.", Katniss sighs. I quirk my brow at her before moving to sit down on my bed. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm going to get lectured for a while regarding my attitude towards Mei, so I must as well get comfy now while I can. "You're really gonna give up that easily?", I question Katniss.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

     I set my backpack back into it's chair, then return to my work desk. I switch my lamp light on, and settle into my chair. Okay, I apologized, Cato's not too mad, and Peeta actually wants to hang out with me tomorrow! Now I just need to hurry up and finish this so I can plan my outfit for tomorrow. I've never really been one of those girls, who need to take the time to plan out the perfect outfit the night before. Unless of course it's for an important event and I have to dress up. Lunch tomorrow IS a big event, for me that is. Lonnie's always hanging out with her teammates and friends, a lunch with friends is a daily occurrence for her, it's normal. I usually take a small picnic to the enchanted lake, everyone thinks it's because I adore nature, but that's only part of the reason. I feel uncomfortable sitting at a table by myself, surrounded by others and their groups of friends. Lonnie always says I can join her and her friends at their table, but that just makes me feel like I'm intruding. I'm on friendly and good terms with mostly everyone, I usually get along really well with people. Yet I'm not really friends with any of them. I don't really know what I was doing wrong, but that doesn't matter anymore. That all changes tomorrow. It seems like Peeta might actually want to be friends with me, and I can see Katniss coming around eventually. Cato on the other hand, that'll be a challenge. I hope that once he gets to know me, maybe he'll consider letting his guard down, even just slightly. I smile as I get to work on my paper.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

     Katniss whips around to face me, and shoots me a death glare. Peeta moves to stand beside her. "I'm not giving up anything. I'm being practical and compromising, it won't kill me to not curse for a few months. Maybe you think about being practical too.", Katniss replies. I roll my eyes at her, and kick my shoes off. This is going to be one very emotionally draining conversation, I can feel it in my bones. I can also feel Katniss' annoyance and fiery determination bubbling to the surface. Once she has her mind set on something, no matter what that might be, she doesn't stop until she accomplishes whatever her set goal is. "I take it Peeta messaged you to come save the poor damsel from the big bad wolf.", I joke. Peeta obviously messaged her. Since I highly doubt she had her ear pressed to her door, listening to see if I was getting into any altercations. She could just ask Peeta if she wanted to know that. "Don't turn this into a joke, Cato. Things really got out of hand back there.", Peeta says. Yes, it was very clear that you thought so. Katniss wouldn't be standing here otherwise. "What's your problem with her anyway? Besides her staring at you, she's been nothing but kind towards you.", Katniss asks. Ugh, here we go again. Why are they so hellbent on me getting along with this one girl? Why is it relevant? I don't HAVE to like everyone we meet here. "The real question is why am I not allowed to have a problem with her? I'm not kissing her ass just because she's an Auradonian.", I snap.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

     After about a couple of hours, I finally finished my paper. I hop up and gather all of my things. I put away all my school supplies, then shut off my lamp. I start to feel a little anxious as I walk over to my closet. It's just lunch, there's nothing to be nervous about. I open my closet door, and start to riffle through my wardrobe. Except for the fact that if lunch goes horribly wrong, my chances at being friends with them severely decreases. It'd be really nice to have some friends, even if it's only for a few months. Should I dress casual, like it's just another day for me? Or should I go in the more dressy direction? I don't want it to look like I'm trying too hard, but I also don't want to look too boring. My eyes eventually land on the perfect dress. A sleeveless navy blue lolita style dress. An orange dragon pattern decorates the dress. It's interesting and definitely catches the eye, yet casual enough to wear during a normal day at school. I pull it from the rack, and hang it on a hook that's on the top of my closet door. My navy blue mary jane shoes that have a kitten heel will go perfectly with this dress. Oh, and my cream colored knee length socks will tie everything together! I can't help but let out an excited squeal. "What's got you so excited?", Lonnie asks. I whip around and gasp, covering my hand over my heart. I didn't hear her come in. "Jeez, Lonnie! You scared me!", I exclaim. She giggles and gives me an apologetic look. I turn back around and shakily wander over to my shoe rack. "You didn't answer my question.", Lonnie reminds me.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

     "We're not asking you to kiss her ass.", Peeta starts. "We're just asking you to be civil towards her.", Katniss finishes. I roll my eyes. "Why should I be?", I ask. Peeta lets out a frustrated groan. The more they keep trying to force me to act kind towards her, the more I want to take out all my frustration on her. "Look, if you can't even have one normal conversation with someone as harmless as Mei, then how do you expect to perform all your duties as leader without starting a war?", Katniss asks me. I suppose she does have a point there, as usual. "Think of this whole experience as practice.", Peeta suggests. I let out a deep sigh before flopping onto my bed. They're really not going to let this go until I as least try. "FINE. I'll try being 'nicer'.", I concede. I can feel the relief wash over Peeta. "Good.", Katniss states before turning to leave. "Are you leaving already?", Peeta asks. Disappointment rolls off of him in huge waves. I roll my eyes and chuckle. I wonder if Clove and I will get like that one day... Probably not though. We're great friends and all, but we don't harbor any romantic feelings towards each other. It'd be so much more easier if we did, but we know our duties to our pack and that's what really matters. My parents hated each other when they 1st became mates, yet they put that all aside for the good of the pack. Now they're very fond of each other. Sometimes I wonder if they ever regretted becoming mates just because everyone expected them to.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

     "Oh, right. I'm having lunch with Cato, Peeta, and Katniss tomorrow.", I say as I pull the heels I was looking for off the rack. "Who? You don't mean the WKs, do you?", Lonnie asks. I set the shoes by my dress, then walk over to my dresser. "I do, and they have names you know.", I reply. Lonnie lets out a snort. "I know THAT, but it's not like anyone told me their names until just now.", Lonnie states. I let a hum of acknowledgement as I pull out the socks and hang them up with my dress. Now all I have to do is get changed into my pjs and brush my teeth, then I'll be ready for bed. I grab an orange set of silk pjs, and walk over to the bathroom. "So how'd you get saddled with lunch duty?", Lonnie asks from the other side of the door. Lonnie's never really understood that Shapeshifters are people too. She was like that when Lady Mal and her friends 1st arrived, but that changed once she got to know them. I think that if she'd take the time to get to know Cato and his friends, her opinion would change. "I didn't get saddled with anything.", I say while slipping on my pjs. I turn on the faucet and pull my toothbrush from it's holder. "What do you mean? Isn't it a part of your welcoming committee duties or something?", I hear my sister ask in a confused tone of voice. I sigh before quickly brushing my teeth. Why can't I hang out with them, just because I want to? Ugh, I don't even get why shapeshifters get such a bad rep. Being able to turn into a wolf, or anything else for the matter, is extremely cool.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

     "Yeah, I don't really trust my new roommate enough to leave my personal belongings alone with her for an extended period of time.", Katniss explains. I immediately sit up, curiosity clearly getting the better of me. "Who's your new roommate?", I ask. This is Auradon, isn't everyone supposedly trustworthy? It of course wouldn't surprise me if most of the students here are prejudice towards shapeshifters. There's a pretty negative stigma around us. People assume we're monsters, and that we act like wild animals all the time. That we have no self control, and a horrible temper. A decent amount of people believe that we're a danger to society, and we should remain in the other side of the Enchanted Forest. "Princess Audrey.", Katniss scoffs. Oof, I feel really sorry for her. I can't imagine having to room with a 'Princess'. "Who's she the daughter of?", Peeta asks. Well, her mother or father must have a similar sounding name to 'Audrey'. I'd probably be able to figure it out if I knew the names of all the royals, but I can't be bothered to memorize all that. Auradonians for some reason like to name their kids similar names to their own, which seems pretty conceded to me. "Aurora, who's also apparently known as 'Sleeping Beauty'.", she drawls. Peeta gives her a sympathetic look. "Well what's Audrey like actually?", Peeta asks. Katniss tends to dislike most new people right off the bat, and it usually takes a little while for her to let her guard down.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

     I open the bathroom door and almost bump into Lonnie. I sigh and move around her, walking towards my bed. "No, it's not. Peeta asked me if I wanted to hang out with them later, and we agreed on eating lunch together tomorrow.", I say. I slide into bed as Lonnie struts over to me with a concerned look on her face. "Are you sure that's a good idea?", Lonnie asks. I quirk my brow at her. "What do you mean?", I ask back. I though it was a pretty good idea. Shouldn't she be happy that I might be finally making some friends of my own, with her having to help me along the way. Lonnie sighs before sitting on the edge of my bed. "Mei, you have such a big heart. You see the good in everyone, even when it sometimes might not be there. Ben has the exact same quality. That's why he wanted to give the VKs, and now the WKs, a chance. He was right about Jay, Evie, Carlos, and Mal, but I'm not so sure about these new students. They're dangerous and unpredictable. I just don't want you to get hurt. Maybe it'd be better if you kept your distance from them.", Lonnie finishes. I know she's just trying to protect me, but I'm not completely helpless. Besides, the worst villains all started out as good people. They were just unfortunate enough to have something bad happen to them, causing them to become bad themselves. There's goodness in everyone, even if it's really deep down."Thank you for looking out for me. I know that you always have my best interests at heart, but I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself.", I say.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

     "She stuck up, annoying, completely full of herself, and she's made it pretty clear that she hates us.", Katniss growls out. Peeta quickly pulls her into a hug, and starts rubbing her back in a circular soothing motion. "The solution's simple. Have Peeta come with you so you don't have to suffer alone, as least until curfew that is. Then just ask Ben to room you with someone else tomorrow.", I explain. Katniss pulls away from Peeta and shoots me a smile, sending thankful vibes my way. "Thanks, Cato.", Katniss says before promptly dragging Peeta out of the room. "You're welcome!", I call out as she leaves. Well at least I finally get some time to myself, for now. Perhaps I should take advantage of this peace and quiet by getting some rest. I didn't sleep for very long last night, I was too annoyed by this whole diplomacy 'mission'. My father wouldn't risk offending the King of Auradon by refusing his ever so 'kind' invitation. I suppose I should appreciate Ben's efforts to break the negative stigma around us, but I can't help but feel that he's doing so for his own benefit. News outlets always paint him as this saint who sees the good where others only see bad. As the King that all other rulers should take notes from. Ben inviting us only solidifies that image even more so. I quickly shake my head to clear such thoughts. Thinking about that will only piss me off more, then I'll get even less sleep then I did last night. I walk over to my dresser, retrieve my night clothes, change, then shut off the lights before crawling into bed.

* * *

 

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

     Lonnie looks down before replying, "Yeah, that's why everyone bullies you all the time." I to stop my mouth from falling open from shock. Everyone doesn't bully me! They just have their own stuff they're dealing with, and sometimes they just have to let that frustration out somehow. I'm just there at the wrong time. "If you think everyone bullies me, when why haven't you done anything about it?", I ask. She can't really think I'm being bullied, can she? She surely would've went to Headmistress Fairy Godmother immediately if that were the case. "I tried talking to them, but they wouldn't listen.", Lonnie defends before quickly standing up. "That isn't the point. You're incapable of standing up for yourself, and your new 'friends' will just take advantage of that.", Lonnie says. I'm perfectly capable of standing up for myself if I needed to. I hop out of bed, and walk over to her. "You keep talking about them like they're terrible people.", I accuse. My sister crosses her arms. "Well what if they are?", Lonnie asks me. "How can you judge them so quickly when you don't even know them?", I ask back. Lonnie groans before starting to pace back and forth, a tell tale sign that she's getting frustrated. Well she's not the only one who's feeling that way. She can be way too quick to judge people before she really gets to know them. She did it before with Lady Mal and her friends, and now she's doing it again with Cato and his friends. "YOU don't even know them! How can you be so naive?!", Lonnie snaps.

 

  
     My eyes widen from shock. Lonnie's never snapped at me before, she's never called me a name before either. Regret fills her face. She reaches out to me, but I step back. "How can you be so narrow minded?", I retort. She sighs after withdrawing her hand. "I just want what's best for you, can't you see that?", she pleads. I slowly nod my head. My sister's always looked out for me, and I really do appreciate that. She's been an amazing sister to me, and I love her for that. I just wish she would trust my judgement for once. "I know that, but can't you see that I'm not a little girl anymore? I can make my own decisions about who I spend time with. You have to let me make my own decisions based on my judgement, not yours.", I state. I know Lonnie still sees me as her little sister, emphasis on the little, that needs to be looked after. I don't need her to decide how I live my life. When I was younger, and even not too long ago, I always listened to her advice. I knew she'd never steer me wrong, and she never will. Right now though, if I listen to her, I'd be missing out on a chance to get to know some amazing new people. "I know you're not a little girl anymore, but you're still my little sister. I'll always look out for you, whether you want me to or not.", Lonnie says before turning to walk away so she can get ready for bed. I return to my own bed, and slide under my blankets. Did my sister and I just have our 1st fight?

* * *

 

 

 

***Time Skip***

 

 

**Cato's POV:**

 

     Wake up to the sound of a blaring alarm clock. I rub the sleep from my eyes, and slowly sit up. I didn't set an alarm, so Peeta must've when he got in last night. I look over, and read 7:00 am on the clock. I chuck a pillow over at a still sleeping Peeta. How can someone with a heightened sense of hearing manage to sleep through that? Peeta's head shoots up from his pillow as he wildly looks around. I laugh as get out of bed. "Must you always wake me by throwing pillows at me?", Peeta groggily asks. I walk over to my closet, and select my clothes for the day. "No, I could always throw something heavier.", I joke. Peeta chuckles. I hear his blankets rustle, and his feet as soon as they hit the floor. I turn around with my clothes in hand to see that he's already completely dressed, even his bed head is gone. He must've used a spell while my back was turned. Sometimes I really wish I was a Kitsune like Peeta, that'd be really convenient. If only werewolves could do magic. "So how'd things go with Katniss' roommate?", I ask while slipping my shirt off. "Things were, interesting, to say the least.", Peeta vaguely replies. I slide on my shirt on, then exchange undergarments and pants. "Care to elaborate on that?", I question. I sit on the edge of my bed to put on my socks. "Well, she tried to hit on me when she 1st saw me. Which Katniss shut down pretty quickly. Then she went on a rant about how disgusted she was with herself for even considering me in the 1st place, or something like that? Basically she's just as awful as Katniss said she was.", Peeta finishes. Wow, and I thought I felt bad for Katniss BEFORE. I hop into a pair of shoes. "She better talk to Fairy Godmother about switching rooms, pronto.", I respond. Peeta uses a spell, and my schedule's in my hand while my backpack's on my back. He then naturally does the spell for himself. "I could've just walked over and gotten these myself.", I say while waving my schedule in the air. Peeta briskly walks to the door. "True, but Katniss is an early riser, and judging by Audrey's intense nighttime skin routine, I'd say she has a morning one as well.", Peeta points out. There's only one bathroom per dorm room... I jog to the door and quickly shove Peeta out of it.

* * *

 


	5. The Cafeteria

**Cato's POV:**

 

      Peeta stumbles for a moment before steadying himself and then teleporting us in front of Katniss's dorm room. He quickly knocks on the door before I even have a chance to compliment his spell casting skills, which have definitely improved over time. It used to take Peeta 5 minutes to cast a teleportation spell, and now he can do it in 5 seconds. The sound of rushed footsteps quickly fills my ears. Katniss soon roughly opens the door while letting out a sigh of relief. Joy and thankfulness rolls off her in strong waves. "THANK GOD YOU'RE BOTH HERE. SHE'S BEEN HOGGING THE BATHROOM FOR 2 HOURS NOW!", Katniss exclaims before pulling Peeta into her dorm room. I walk in after them, slowly shutting the door behind me. Peeta pulls Katniss into a comforting hug. It looks like Katniss hasn't had a chance to change out of her pajamas, let alone brush her hair. "Who in their right mind would get up at 5 am just to get dressed for school?", I scoff. Katniss pulls away before rolling her eyes in a dramatic manner. "Apparently princess Audrey.", Katniss grumbles out as irritation flows from her. Peeta shoots her a sympathetic look. I'm honestly surprised Katniss didn't yank Audrey out of the bathroom after 30 minutes. "IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT THEN GO USE SOMEONE ELSE'S BATHROOM!", Audrey yells from the bathroom. I'm surprised her dull human ears could hear us from here. "MAYBE I WILL!", Katniss screams back. Peeta cringes due to how close he is in proximity. Katniss immediately shoots him an apologetic look. "It's okay, come here.", Peeta says while motioning for Katniss to step closer.

* * *

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

     I wake up to my alarm ringing. I lightly rub my eyes before reaching over and turning my alarm off. I already know Lonnie's at Swords And Shields practice before I even look over at her side of the room. She's hardly ever around, and for once I'm kinda grateful for it. I'm not ready to face her just yet after our fight last night. I know I'll end up apologizing as soon as I see her, even though it seems like she's in no rush to apologize herself. I sigh before pushing my blankets back, and sliding out of bed. I pad over to the bathroom to clean myself up a bit before getting dressed. "I shouldn't let my argument with Lonnie put a damper on my day.", I say to myself while looking in the mirror. I quickly brush my teeth, wash my face, and leave the bathroom with a renewed determination. I'm going to prove to Lonnie, and everyone else, that shapeshifters are just like us. They shouldn't be treated any differently than everyone else. I walk over to my dresser, and take out a navy blue bra with matching underwear. I strip off my pjs, then toss them into my hamper. I slip on my undergarments, then retrieve my dress from it's hanger. I don my dress, then sit on the edge of my bed to slide on the socks. I skip back over to my closet door to grab my shoes. I can't help but let out a giddy squeal as I slip them on. I can't remember the last time I truly looked forward to lunchtime. I walk over to my vanity, and promptly sit down. I brush my hair out, and pull it into a ponytail. I put on some light nude makeup on, then set it in place with some setting spray.

* * *

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

     Peeta places both his pointer and middle fingers of each hand on Katniss's temples. They both close their eyes as an orange aura emits from Peeta's hands. This same aura quickly envelops Katniss's body before fading away a moment later. Revealing a fully groomed and dressed Katniss. "Thank God I don't have to look at your unkempt appearance anymore.", I joke. Peeta lowers his hands as Katniss lets out a snort before playfully rolling her eyes. Katniss quickly strides over to what I'm assuming is her bed, since I can't really see her sleeping on a pink bed covered in fluffy pillows. She grabs her hiking backpack and class schedule. "Come on, let's get out of here. I want a different room before the day's over.", Katniss says while quickly striding pass us. Peeta rushes after her while I once again trail behind. I close the door behind us. "Did you really bring your hiking backpack to school?", I tease Katniss as I soon fall into step with both her and Peeta. I can already feel Katniss starting to get defensive before she even retorts something. Katniss's always been the adventurist outdoorsy type, as a lot of us shapeshifters are, but Katniss is exceedingly so. She spends most of her time outdoors, and is only inside buildings when it's absolutely necessary. When you're mostly outdoors, comfort and sensibility in clothing and accessories is a must. A regular backpack for students don't have nearly as many components to it, and not to mention it's a lot less durable. I honestly couldn't see Katniss using a regular backpack, but that doesn't mean I can't tease her for using her hiking one.

* * *

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

     I stand up then push my chair in before walking over to my nightstand to get my phone and charger. I grab those then walk around my bed to my backpack. I place my phone and charger inside my bag before grabbing my keys and slinging my bag onto my shoulders. I take a quick look around to make sure I haven't forgotten anything, then I head out. After double checking that I've locked the door behind me, I slip my keys back into my bag before walking down the hallway. I wave at a few people I walk by before coming to the staircase. I start to walk down the staircase, and about halfway down Chad barrels past me while shoving me out of his way. My shoulder hits the wall, and I let out a faint groan of pain. "Watch it, loser! Audrey texted me saying she wants a double chocolate chip muffin before they're gone!", Chad screams as he runs out of the building. I slowly peel myself off the wall, and lightly rub my now sore shoulder. I'm sure he didn't mean to push me that hard, he was just in a hurry. I hear 2 pairs of rapidly approaching footsteps. I cringe and stiffen, not bothering to look up in case it's Ally and Jordan. "Mei, are you okay?", I hear Peeta ask me. Wait, Peeta? I look up, and Peeta and Katniss are standing in front of me with concerned looks on their faces. Cato's standing behind them with a bored look on his face. I immediately relax as I shoot them a smile. "Oh, good morning Peeta, Katniss, and Cato. I didn't expect to run into all of you this early. I'm fine, Chad was just in a hurry is all.", I greet.

* * *

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

      We reach the top of the staircase just in time to see Mei get shoved into the wall and called a loser, by who I'm assuming is Audrey's boyfriend. Concern immediately rolls off Peeta, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes. I know humans are fragile, but I don't think that little shove to the wall and name call did that much damage. Annoyance and a little bit of anger rolls off Katniss. I'm not at all surprised she's annoyed, but I didn't expect her to be angry over a girl she hardly even knows. Peeta bounds down the stairs with Katniss while I trail after them. Oh boy, I would've asked Peeta to conjure me up a cup of coffee if I knew I'd have to deal with her THIS EARLY in the morning. She cringes and stiffens once she hears Peeta and Katniss approach her. I'm assuming she hasn't realized it's them yet since her head's bowed, and humans don't exactly have the strongest sense of smell either. Does EVERYONE at this school bully this girl? I can feel anxiety and fear roll off the girl in strong waves. She's actually terrified of her own classmates? Once she realizes it's Peeta asking if she's okay, she visibly relaxes as relief and happiness washes over her. Why on Earth would SHE be happy to see US? Suppose it's since Peeta's actually nice to her, but she should still be leery of Katniss, and logically FEAR me. She greets us, even me for some reason, good morning before dismissing Chad's rude behavior. "Even if he was just 'in a hurry', he still shouldn't have pushed you like that.", Katniss tells her.

* * *

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

     "I agree with Katniss, and he shouldn't have called you a loser either. That was uncalled for and rude, not that pushing you wasn't uncalled for and rude as well.", Peeta adds. I softly smile at them. I appreciate their concern, no one's really ever cared enough to ask me that and truly mean it, except Lonnie of course. People would just usually ask me that to be nice I suppose, and only if they knew I was aware that they were standing nearby to witness everything. Cato and his friends could've easily backed away, or pretended come down the stairs after Chad left. They didn't have to check on me, yet they did. I knew they were good people. "Thank you both, I really do appreciate your concern, but I'm sure he didn't mean it.", I say to them. Katniss crosses her arms while quirking a brow at me. "Really? You REALLY think he didn't mean it?", she asks me. I hear Cato deeply sigh behind them. I glance over at him, and we make eye contact. I quickly look back over at Katniss before my face has a chance to heat up. "Well of course. I don't think he'd have a reason to mean it, I've never been mean or rude to him before.", I reply. Peeta lays a hand on my shoulder. "Sometimes, bullies don't have a reason besides taking out their own personal problems on others.", Peeta tells me. Chad isn't a bully, and he doesn't bully me! He's surely just under a lot of stress from Audrey, she is pretty high maintenance. I know Chad struggles with his studies a lot, that must have him on edge as well. Besides, I'm that weak that'd I'd get picked on by so many people I'm on good terms with. Peeta's wrong, and so is Lonnie..

* * *

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

     This girl's either extremely stupid, or in denial about her current situation. Right off the bat she defended Chad and justified his actions, further enabling this toxic behavior. Anguish and hopelessness fills the air, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out where it's coming from. Mei looks like she's fighting back tears at this point. Peeta's still got his hand on her shoulder, and Katniss's moved to lightly rub her back. They're both radiating the same emotion, pity. I scoff and roll my eyes. I really doubt this girl wants their pity, and I seriously doubt she's ready to deal with whatever trama she's experienced at this very moment. Don't they realize, no matter how good their intentions are, they're not helping at the moment? I'm sure she'd much rather cry about it alone in her dorm than on a staircase where anyone could see her. Besides, we've all got things to do. I let out a sigh before stepping forward, and staring Mei down for a moment. I need to give her something else to focus on, and I need these two to stop trying to comfort her right now, it's not very effective. I grab Mei's wrist and yank her towards me. She lets out a yelp as she stumbles down a couple stairs. Right, humans aren't as coordinated, especially not this one. I let go of her wrist and grab her shoulders to help balance her. Anxiety and nervousness soon replace her anguish. She looks away as I let go of her. Katniss immediately descends a step, clearly ready to stop me if I try anything. Peeta obviously follows suit, ha, typical omega.

* * *

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

     Cato's hands felt so warm, and strong.. "Mind showing us the cafeteria? You pointed out the building yesterday, but never showed us the layout of the inside.", Cato asks me. He's, actually being nice to me! I didn't think we'd make this much progress so soon! EEEEEPPPP. THIS IS SO EXCITING! I beam at Cato. "Of course! I was actually just heading over there myself before classes start.", I tell him. Katniss and Peeta walk down the remaining steps with me before I take the lead and walk a few steps in front of them. We're greeted by singing birds and warm sunlight as we step outside of the dorm building. "So how've you 3 been settling into your dorms so far?", I turn my head back to ask. Gosh, walking ahead of them makes me feel like the tour guide again. Which I suppose I still am, but I don't want them to see me as just that. I guess it is my fault for walking ahead of them, it's just what I've always done whenever I've had to show a fellow student where something is. I catch movement near me out of the right corner of my eye. I look over and Cato's now walking in step with me. Oh, that was sweet of him.. Katniss and Peeta soon flank the other side of me. "Peeta and I are settling in as you'd expect, our dorm is sufficient. Katniss on the other hand..", Cato trails off. I immediately look over at Katniss. Oh no, I guess Audrey is giving her a hard time after all. Audrey's 1 of the few people who've managed to get away with not having a roommate for a while, she's doesn't really like to share.

* * *

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

     Concern shoots out of Mei as she looks at Katniss for an explanation. "Leave it Cato. I'm fine, really.", Katniss groans. I let out a snort. "You'd still be in your pjs sporting a severe case of bed head if Peeta and I hadn't have stopped by.", I retort. Katniss shoots me a glare, silently challenging me to drop the subject. I chuckle. "You'll have to forgive Audrey, she's not really used to sharing.", Mei says at Katniss. Katniss drops her glare and looks back ahead. "Why is that not surprising?", Katniss rhetorically asks. Mei surprisingly giggles at this. I would've assumed she’d defend Audrey and attempt to justify her behavior again. I also didn’t expect her laugh to sound so, cute.. I IMMEDIATELY shake my head to clear THAT train of thought. We soon reach the building in which the cafeteria in located. Peeta, Katniss, and I fall back slightly so Mei can take the lead. She holds open the door for us. "Thank you.", Peeta brightly chirps. "Thank you", Katniss says as she's stepping into the building after Peeta. I stop in the middle of the doorway, and give Mei a short nod of acknowledgment. I hear her heartbeat increases the tiniest bit as she smiles at me in response. I furrow my brow at her before walking inside. I hear her walking behind me as we catch up with Katniss and Peeta. I didn't feel a nervous energy emanate from her, I just felt happiness. So why would her heart rate increase?

* * *

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

     I'm not sure why Cato's acting kinder towards me today. Maybe it's because I apologized last night? Whatever the reason, it's definitely made today even better than it would've been otherwise. I follow him as we join Peeta and Katniss at the double doors of the cafeteria entrance. "Did all of you bring any money with you?", I ask them. Peeta's eyes slightly widen. "Were we supposed to?", he asks. Cato scoffs next to me. "Do you think she would've asked that if we weren't supposed to bring money?", Cato asks him. Katniss steps in front of Peeta. Um, maybe I shouldn't have asked that. "I think SOMEONE needs their morning coffee.", Katniss snaps. "It's completely fine if you didn't bring money, just remember to next time please.", I quickly say while wedging myself between Katniss and Cato. Katniss backs up, but Cato holds his ground. I place a hand on his chest. "Let's go inside, hopefully they'll still have some double chocolate chip muffins left. They're really tasty, you should definitely try 1, if you want to that is.", say while looking at Cato. I'm trying my hardest not to blush at the fact that my hand's resting on his very firm chest. He looks down at my hand for a moment. Maybe putting my hand on him was a bit too much? I hope not, I just wanted him to remain calm. I feel myself start to freeze up. No no no no no, this is not the time be nervous! I have to move my hand before he thinks I'm weird and hates me again!

* * *

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

      I look down at her hand resting on my chest. I'm oddly not entirely disgusted by this small show of physical contact. I can tell she's attempting to diffuse the situation to prevent things from escalating any further. I can't believe she thinks Katniss and I would seriously fight. We do trade verbal blows quite often, and things can get tense, but we never seriously fight. We're both pretty stubborn and don't really back down, it's only natural for us to clash at times. Mei follows my gaze to her hand. I can feel her starting to tense up and freeze. Embarrassment and nervousness emanates off her. With her actually touching me I can sense all of her emotions much more easily. She's, concerned and worried. She must think I'll lash out at her for touching me. I normally wouldn't have hesitated, but I am trying to act somewhat decently towards her, and she has been through a lot. That's been made pretty clear since this morning. I sense Katniss and Peeta's uneasiness, they're clearly once again ready to step in if something were to go wrong. I let out a sigh before lightly grabbing her wrist. She stiffens even more and sucks in a breath. She slowly looks up at me. "I'm not going to hurt you.", I state. A blush soon spreads across her cheeks. A burst of caringness spreads through her, as her body temperature slightly rises and her heartbeat quickens. "I know.", she breathes out. OH GOD, she has feelings for me..

* * *

 

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

    Cato slowly pulls my hand away from his chest, and sets it back down. He takes a slight step back. "Okay then, let's go get some of those muffins you were talking about, I'm hungry.", Cato says. I open my mouth before immediately closing it. I'll probably end up stuttering out something stupid. I nod instead and turn around to see confused expressions on Katniss and Peeta's faces. I step around them and hold open 1 of the doors. Cato brushes past them and walks into the cafeteria. They quickly follow after a moment. I let the door shut, and walk over to the breakfast line as the trio silently follows me. I can feel everyone's eyes on us as soon as we start moving. I look at the ground as I make my way to the end of the line. I don't like being looked at like this, it makes me so uncomfortable. I'm guessing the trio must be feeling the same thing. Cato stands in line a couple feet away from me, so Katniss and Peeta fall in line behind him. I look back at him in confusion. Why's he so far back? I wonder if he noticed how uncomfortable I was. Oh no, I don't want him to think that's his fault. I walk over to him and lightly grab his wrist like he did mine earlier. "Don't worry about everyone else, they're just not used to seeing you around here. ", I say before dragging Cato back to where I was in line. He surprisingly lets me, even though he could easily yank his wrist free or plant his feet firmly on the ground. I drop his wrist, then slide my backpack off to fish out my wallet.

* * *

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

    I- this has never happened to me before, someone having a crush on me. My packmates don't look at me in that sort of way, for good reasons of course. There would be no point of a Beta or Omega having feelings for me since I'm destined to marry the top female Alpha. The other female Alphas knew from pretty early on who the top female Alpha was, so there was no point in trying. I never expected a human to have feelings for me, especially Mei of all people. We're complete opposites for Gods sake. I can feel the confusion radiating off Katniss and Peeta as they stand in line behind me. They've been bewildered ever since I asked Mei to show us where the cafeteria was. I'll of course explain my reasoning behind that to them later, when Mei isn't around. The line moves up as Chad starts to walk away with two muffins, most likely those chocolate ones he was screaming about as he ran out of the dorm building earlier. He somehow manages to spot us out of his very dull and limited peripheral vision. He whips his head in our direction entirely, and shoots us a glare before marching over to us. Katniss stiffens and slightly shifts herself in front of Peeta. Peeta grabs her hand, and intertwines his fingers with hers while sending her a wave of calming energy. Mei's eyes widen as she sees him coming, extremely nervous and almost fearful energy radiates from her being. "What're THEY doing in OUR cafeteria?", Chad snaps at Mei while jabbing a finger in my direction.

* * *

 

 

 

**Mei's POV:**

 

    I visibly flinch at the harness in Chad's voice, and Cato starts to growl. OH NO, this is Family Day all over again. I can't let this happen again, everyone else hasn't even gotten a chance to warm up to Cato, Katniss, and Peeta yet. "Getting breakfast just like everyone else, and this is their cafeteria too now.", I say to Chad. Chad takes a step towards me, and it takes all my willpower not to shrink back. I try to avoid conflict as much as possible, but I can't back down on this. "You did tell them that the lunch ladies don't serve dog food here, right?", Chad sneers. Katniss takes a step forward and lets go of Peeta's hand. "Katniss, don't. It's not worth it.", Peeta says. "You better listen to your little bitch there, Lassie.", Chad says. I jump in front of Chad before any of them has a chance to punch him in the face. I'm pretty sure everyone here's looking at us and waiting for a fight to break out, but I can't worry about who might be watching right now. I have to stop this from escalating any further. "They're regular people just like us! I don't know what your problem is, but they never done anything to you!", I defend. Chad gets in my face, and I feel Cato grab my arm. "They're anything BUT regular people, and the sooner you realize what freaks they are, the better. Walk away now before they use you as a chew toy.", Chad threatens. Cato pulls me away from Chad, and hides me behind him. "Are you really so insecure about yourself, that you feel the need to belittle others so they feel just as insignificant as you do?", Cato asks.

* * *

 

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

     Chad should count himself lucky I can't mangle his fragile human carcass right now. Katniss and Peeta are pissed, I can feel it shooting off them. While Mei on the other hand is terrified and protective at the same time. She's concerned a fight will break out, which honestly might've happened if she weren't here right now. I'd be lying if I didn't admit I'm surprised she wants to protect us instead of Chad, seeing as how he's a fellow Auradonian. Chad blinks his eyes a few times in surprise. I hear a few 'oooh's and laughs throughout the cafeteria. Anger and embarrassment surges off Chad as he glares at me. He steps up to me, proceeding to invade my personal space and getting in my face. I growl at him and his glare intensifies. "Yoooo are they really 'bout ta throw hands?", I hear some random guy ask someone else. "I don't know bro, but I'm sure as Hell getting it on video if they do.", the guy's friend replies. I feel Mei yank her arm out of my grasp. "Chad, stop this!", Mei shouts at Chad. He glances in her direction. "Or what?", he snaps before shoving me. I stumble back a step. Before I get a chance to tackle him to the ground Mei jumps in front of me and shoves Chad back. "I said STOP IT!", Mei snaps. He's sways a bit but doesn't actually budge. I'm guessing Mei doesn't work out much. I'm impressed by her determination and ability to put her fear aside to think fairly clearly. He stares Mei down, and quickly lifts a hand up to slap her. Mei flinches and I rush up to hopefully intercept the slap, but Katniss thankfully blocks his hand before I can. I don't like Mei, but she doesn't deserve to be struck for sticking up for us. I'd feel guilty if Chad had succeeded in striking her.

* * *

 


	6. Dorm Swap

 

**Mei's POV:**

 

      I crack an eye open to see Katniss with her arm up, clearly trying to shield me from Prince Chad. “I’ll be sure to tell Fairy Godmother that you tried to pick a fight with us, AND constantly pick on a sweet defenseless girl when we stop by her office later.”, Katniss tells him in a snarky tone of voice. Hey! I’m not THAT defenseless! Sure I couldn’t hold my own against Prince Chad, or really anyone else for that matter, but that doesn’t mean I’m.. Wait, Prince Chad doesn’t constantly pick on me. He’s not a bad person, he’s just dealing with a lot I’m sure. I feel a hand on my right shoulder, I glance over just in time to see Cato glaring at Prince Chad. I hear Peeta step up behind me. Prince Chad shoots us the dirtiest look he could possibly muster before stomping off. “At much as I appreciate you guys sticking up for me, as well as yourselves, that really wasn’t necessary. We don’t have to tell Headmistress Fairy Godmother about him ‘picking’ on me either, really it’s-“, I start explaining before Cato looms over me. I stop talking to give him a chance to speak, but I think Katniss and Peeta interpreted it in the wrong way. “Cato, now’s really not the time to-“, Peeta starts. Cato lets out a fierce growl that makes Peeta take a step backwards. “Hey!”, Katniss snaps. Cato whips his head in her direction. “You will let me speak, and give me the benefit of the doubt for once.”, he states. Katniss takes a step back as well. “My apologies SIR, please do continue.”, Katniss sardonically says.

* * *

 

  
**Cato’s POV:**

 

      GODS, can those 2 be any more protective over her? During that altercation with Mr. Prince Charming over there, it was appropriate, now it’s out of hand. I don’t plan on hurting Mei, no matter how much I might dislike her. She’s a weak and, like Katniss said, defenseless creature. It wouldn’t be fair really, I could slaughter her in mere moments. That goes against my moral values though, despite what some humans here might think. “Come on, let’s get those muffins first. Then we can discuss this somewhere more, private.”, I suggest. Mei looks over at the line that hasn’t budged an inch, due to the fact that they were all too absorbed in the drama to remember what they were standing there for in the 1st place. “Yeah, that’s probably be best.”, Mei admits as everyone resumes their normal business. “I think we should just go straight to Fairy Godmother. I wouldn’t put it past Chad to rush over there and come up with some elaborate lie, painting us as the bad guys.”, Peeta suggests. Katniss immediately nods in agreement. I have to commend him for thinking of that so quickly, I’m impressed. “Peeta’s right, we can’t trust someone like him.”, Katniss says while already dragging Peeta out of the line. “I agree with you both, great thinking Peeta.”, I praise. A good leader is able to recognize when someone else has a better idea or plan than their own, and doesn’t let their own pride get in the way of acknowledging such.

* * *

 

  
**Mei’s POV:**

 

     Peeta beams at Cato’s compliment. “Prince Chad wouldn’t stoop so low to do something like that.”, I protest. Prince Chad’s a better person than that, even though he has a lot of not so great moments. Cato sighs before staring me down, and I can feel my heart stutter in my chest. “Please don’t enable his destructive behavior any longer. He won’t be able to learn from his mistakes and grow as a person if you keep making excuses for him.”, Cato explains to me. I'm not making excuses for him, but I suppose he does have a point, in a way. Personal growth is quite important. Prince Chad DOES need to learn how to be the best Prince he can be, and it’d be better for him to start now before he has any serious responsibilities. “I- alright, if that’s what you think is best.”, I tell Cato. He looks away for a moment before clearing his throat. “Come on then, let’s get out of here. Peeta can just conjure us up some muffins on the way there.”, Cato says before turning to leave. We all walk out of the cafeteria, but even after the cafeteria doors close, I can still feel everyone’s eyes on us. I feel someone once again place a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, are you okay? You seem unsettled.”, Peeta asks me. I appreciate everyone's concern, but I’m not THAT fragile that I need to be coddled. Peeta removes his hand from my shoulder before I can respond. “Sorry it’s just, with everything that’s happened lately you must be dealing with a lot. I didn’t mean to annoy you.”, Peeta apologizes.

* * *

 

  
**Cato’s POV:**

 

     Worry and panic soon overload her senses, nice job Peeta. “NO! You’re not annoying me in the slightest! I appreciate how kind you’ve been towards me, and how much you care. I’m just annoyed at how helpless I seem to be.”, Mei admits. Well at least she’s not deluding herself any further. I can feel how hard that was for her to admit. “Shapeshifters can sense feelings and emotions, especially the closer we’re standing to said person. If we’re in physical contact with them we can sense everything they’re feeling. That’s how Peeta here could tell you were annoyed about something.”, I explain to her as I move to stand beside her. I can tell she was put off by how easily Peeta was able to read her. Her eyes widen in wonder at the information I just shared with her. Awe and curiosity spark inside of her, along with fear. I take it she’s worried about making a fool of herself in a way she can’t control. That’s an understandable fear. “We can discuss this later or on the way over to Fairy Godmother’s office. Remember, the whole reason I don’t have a double chocolate chip muffin in my hands right now?”, Katniss reminds us. I didn’t realize that muffin was so high on her priority list along with Fairy Godmother’s Office. “We’d be lost without you, Katniss.”, I say as walk past everyone. My shoes hit the grass as they catch up with me outside. “Very big of you to admit that, Cato.”, Katniss replies as she joins me by my side. I can feel how pleased she is my comment.

* * *

 

  
**Mei’s POV:**

 

     I hesitantly stand on the other side of Cato. I don’t want him to be able to sense what I’m feeling, but I can’t help but feel more grounded when I’m near him. I had hoped he hadn’t sensed my very minor crush on him, but there's no way he hasn't sensed how I feel by now. Ugh, out of all the people I could've developed feelings for, my brain chooses the guy who’s WAY out of my league. Who also happens to be leaving in a couple of months. Peeta stands next to Katniss, and they hold hands as we start the short walk to Fairy Godmother’s Office. I catch a bright orange light out of the corner of my eye, it’s Peeta doing some sort of magical spell. All of a sudden, a double chocolate chip muffin appears in my hand. That’s right, Cato did mention something about Peeta conjuring up some muffins on the way. “Oh, thank you.”, I say before taking a bite out of the muffin. Wow, THIS IS DELICIOUS! A muffled moan escapes my lips, and my face immediately heats up. Cato lets out an amused snort, while Peeta lightly laughs. “I take it you like the muffin?”, Cato asks me. Pfttt, he should already know the answer to that since he can feel whatever I’m feeling. I’m surprised he hasn’t already told me he’s far from interested, and I should set my sights somewhere else. I nod while taking another bite. It doesn’t matter anyway, I’m not aiming to pursue anything outside of friendship with him. “Well thank you, baking is my specialty.”, Peeta tells me. I look over at him and shoot him a smile.

* * *

 

 

**Cato’s POV:**

 

     “I can tell, you’ve got some real talent!”, Mei praises. Wow is she a kiss up or what? “If you like his muffins, you should try his bread. It’s the best bread you’ll ever have.”, Katniss boasts. I start chucking as Peeta puffs his chest out as Pride radiates off of him. “I have to agree with both of you, Peeta’s the best baker around.”, I admit between laughs. Katniss smiles as she radiates joy, which is a rare occurrence for her, unless she's spending time with Peeta that is. Curiosity once again reaches its peak from Mei. "So um, can all shapeshifters do magic as well?", she hesitantly asks us. She's feeling rather uneasy, assumingly because she's afraid to offend us. "You can ask us questions you know, we're not going to get mad at you for that. To answer your question, no. It all depends on what kind of shapeshifter a person is.", Katniss replies. We reach the building in which Fairy Godmother's office is located. "We can finish this conversation later, okay?", I tell Mei as I glance over in her direction. I don't know how, but sometime during this morning and now, I've become accustomed to Mei's optimistic and overzealous personality. Which I'm sure Peeta and Katniss are pleased about, they can surely sense that my demeanor shifted to a more calmer one. "Yeah, okay.", she breathes out as she makes eye contact with me. She's nervous, but also, oddly giddy? Later I'll have to have a talk with her in private about those feelings of hers. I don't want her to get the wrong idea and assume because we might be spending some time together, we're going to become an item.

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

    I lead everyone into the main building as Cato glances away from me. After the painfully silent trek down a couple of hallways, we reach Headmistress Fairy Godmother's office. Katniss steps up and knocks on the door, and a moment later we're greeted be Headmistress Fairy Godmother's smiling face. "Oh hello there, and good morning! I wasn't expecting you four today. Was there something I could help all of you with?",  Headmistress Fairy Godmother kindly asks. "Actually yes, there're a few things we needed to talk to you about.", Katniss replies. Headmistress Fairy Godmother's expression turns into a more serious one. She steps back and ushers all of us inside her office before shutting the door. "Please feel free to have a seat.", Headmistress Fairy Godmother tells us as she moves to sit back down at her desk. "Thank you.", I reply before sitting. Katniss sits at the other available seat, while Cato and Peeta opt to stand behind us. "Katniss would like to change rooms, please.", I say before anyone has a chance to bring up Prince Chad. "Oh, are you and Audrey having trouble adjusting?", Headmistress Fairy Godmother asks Katniss. "Yes, but it's not just that. It been made apparently clear that she doesn't like me, and I don't feel comfortable leaving my belongings there unattended.", Katniss explains to her. Headmistress Fairy Godmother frowns, which is a rare thing for her to do unless something's very wrong. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

     "Audrey's just not used to having roommates, why don't you just give her some time to settle down and-", Fairy Godmother starts before I cut her off. I don't appreciate her trying find a way to justify that girl's hatred for shapeshifters. "I'm afraid the issue's bigger than that girl 'adjusting'. You know just as well as we do, that most people don't like us because of what we are. Audrey is not an exception to that. I cannot standby while my packmate is uncomfortable with the living situation you expect her to remain in for the next 2 months.", I interject. Fairy Godmother quickly blinks back the surprise that's clearly plastered all over her face. No doubt she's offset by my formality. I can sense that Mei's feeling nervous, Katniss is slightly annoyed that I injected on her behalf, and Peeta's relieved at how civilly I'm handling this so far. "If you could just give Audrey a chance-", Fairy Godmother starts to plead. “With all due respect, Fairy Godmother, I think you’re giving her too many chances.”, Peeta tells her. “She’s not as NICE as you may think, and her boyfriend’s just as bad.”, Katniss adds on. Mei uncomfortably looks down. “Audrey’s a model student! As for Chad, he might not be the, brightest light bulb in the box, but he’s a perfect gentleman. Is it possible you all might just be, overreacting?”, Fairy Godmother has the audacity to ask us. “Excuse me?”, I snap. Mei flinches before jumping up. She freezes as everyone’s attention is drawn towards her. “They’re not overreacting, Headmistress Fairy Godmother.”, Mei quickly spits out. 

* * *

 

 

**Mei’s POV:**

 

     I didn’t want to stand against Princess Audrey and Prince Chad, but Headmistress Fairy Godmother is leaving me with no choice. Besides, I’m tired of being so helpless. “Are you sure, child?”, Headmistress Fairy Godmother asks me. I firmly nod my head. “Cato asked me if I could show them where the cafeteria was this morning, so I took them there and waited with them in line. Well Prince Chad saw us there, and he wasn’t happy. He used harsh and cruel language when addressing them, and even tried to start a fight with Cato. It’s like he was trying to repeat Family Day all over again.”, I explain to Headmistress Fairy Godmother. She seems to grow slightly uncomfortable at the mention of Family Day. She lets out a sigh. “Family Day was a disaster. I thought Chad was over that already.”, Headmistress Fairy Godmother admits. “He seems to be content with Lady Mal and her friends, but Cato, Katniss, and Peeta are a different story.", I reply. "What happened on Family Day?", Peeta asks. I look back at him, and Cato is already trying to shush him. Their friendship is adorable. I let out a giggle. "It's okay, really. You all know that Lady Mal, Princess Evie, Jay, and Carlos are from The Isle Of The Lost right?", I ask them. All 3 of them nod as they shift their attention towards me even more so than it already was. "Some people, like Chad, had trouble accepting them. During Family Day, a day when students' parents and grandparents travel here to visit, Queen Leah was pretty freaked out that Lady Mal and her friends were here in Auradon. Prompting Chad to say some very hurtful things to them. The situation escalated, and the result was Chad passing out for about thirty seconds due to Princess Evie spraying him with some sort of sleeping spray.", I explain. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

    If I recall correctly, Queen Leah is the mother of Aurora. Which would make her Audrey's grandmother. Why am I not surprised that prejudice runs in the family, and apparently spreads to whoever those people decide to be romantically involved with? "Well, let's not dwell in the past now. What's important is what's happening right now.", Fairy Godmother says. Which effectively draws everyone's attention back towards her. "I agree with you on that note. So, what's happening right now is that your 'model student' and your 'gentleman' don't like us. Katniss isn't safe in her current living position, an something must be done about it. Either move Audrey, or move Katniss.", I tell Fairy Godmother. I can feel the defensiveness roll off Fairy Godmother instantly. I know Katniss and Peeta can feel it too, Katniss slightly stiffens at the same time Peeta places a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's clear that there is a, problem here, but claiming Katniss isn't safe with Audrey seems like a bit of an overstatement don't you think?", Fairy Godmother dismisses. How can she still sit there and attempt to reduce the situation to a mere disagreement between two parties, when it's clear that it's much more serious than that? "Besides trying to egg Cato into fighting him, Chad tried to hit Mei.", Katniss spits out. I can sense her aggravation quickly growing stronger. Peeta doesn't even want to calm her down on this one, he's just as frustrated, if not more so since Katniss's safety is a concern. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

     Headmistress Fairy Godmother looks mortified. She quickly stands up. "Did he really try and put his hands on you, Mei? Is this the 1st time he's tried to do such a thing, to you or any other student?", Headmistress Fairy Godmother frantically asks me. I nervously look away. I hate talking about things like this when it involves me. "Yeah, Katniss blocked him. He also pushed Cato.", I say. Headmistress Fairy Godmother lets out a gasp before exclaiming, "Bippity Boppity!" I see something move on my right side out of my peripheral vision. I look over and see Cato standing next to me. A familiar warm feeling starts to pool up in my stomach. Ugh, now is not the time to get mushy, brain! "I'm fine, and it's not me you should be concerned with regarding that.", Cato says before looking over at me. Katniss gets up to stand next to me, and Peeta stands next to her. "We all deserve an equal amount of concern. Just because you're stronger than him, doesn't mean he can get away with pushing you like that.", Katniss chides. Headmistress Fairy Godmother claps her hands, once again getting the attention from everyone in the room. "Okay, well, I'll go get Chad and bring him in here so we can all have a long chat about-", Headmistress Fairy Godmother starts before I hastily cut her off. Which I feel horrible about, I hate interrupting people. "Please don't! Sorry, it's just, I hate confrontation, and I wouldn't really be comfortable with..", I trail off. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

    "Hey, as least you spoke out. That's all that matters.", Peeta reassures Mei as she grows more and more uncomfortable. "Peeta is right, if anyone is bullying any of you or your fellow classmates, don't hesitate to come find me or another teacher. Mistreating others is never okay, and Chad of all people should've learned that long ago, but that's besides the point! I will privately talk to him about this unbecoming behavior later. Katniss, I would usually encourage two roommates that didn't see eye to eye, to give each other a chance and work out whatever problems they might be having with each other in counseling. In this particular case however, I will make an exception.", Fairy Godmother concedes. "Thank you.", Katniss says with as smile as Mei starts hopping up and down like a child. Peeta laughs at her antics as I have to refrain from rolling my eyes. "Let me just check and see who I can pair you with.", Fairy Godmother says as she sits back down. She starts rapidly typing on her computer, and after a few moments, the feeling of pity starts wafting off her. I'm guessing there aren't any other rooms she can put Katniss in, fuck. "Bippity..", Fairy Godmother sighs. I know Bippity Boppity Boo is her known catchphrase, but must she replace every other form of emotional expression with those three, or so far two, words? "What's wrong, Headmistress Fairy Godmother?", Mei asks in a very concerned tone of voice. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

     "It appears that there aren't any other students that don't already have a roommate, I'm so sorry.", Headmistress Fairy Godmother tells us. It feels like something in my stomach dropped. I look over at Katniss, and her expression is completely blank. "So put her in a room by herself.", Cato says. Headmistress Fairy Godmother shakes her head. "It's against school policy for students to get their own dorms. It's unfair to the other students that have to share.", Headmistress Fairy Godmother replies. "But Audrey had her own room.", Peeta argues. "That's because their was an odd number of female students.", Headmistress Fairy Godmother explains. No, this can't be happening. She can't go back there. I know what Audrey and her friend group are like. They take out their problems on other people. I don't want Katniss to go through, what I- "I'll share a room with her!", I exclaim. "Don't you already have a roommate?", Cato asks me. "Yes, don't you share a dorm with your big sister?", Headmistress Fairy Godmother confirms. I nod my head. "I don't mind changing rooms though, really. In fact, I'd love to room with Katniss.", I admit. I love my sister dearly, but I'm tired of living in her shadow. I think we need to spend some time apart, so I have room to be my own person. "Okay, well, I'll have to ask Lonnie and Audrey if they'd be okay with the swap before we can move forward with this.", Headmistress Fairy Godmother says. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato POV:**

 

     I'm honestly not surprised Mei so quickly offered to room with Katniss. Dread and empathy was raging through her before she blurted that out, not to mention she also clearly has some issues regarding her sister. "I'm sure Audrey would be MORE than happy to get rid of me.", Katniss quips. I let out a snort. "I'm sure she'd even help you pack your bag if it wasn't already packed.", I joke. Mei lets out a giggle. I really wish she wouldn't do that around me. The sound is oddly cute. "Lonnie gets along with everyone, she'll have no trouble rooming with Audrey. They even hang out almost every week.", Mei says in her effort to persuade Fairy Godmother to grant permission for this dorm swap. I can tell Fairy Godmother's considering it, which is quite interesting. Considering that she seems like the type to ask everyone for their approval before doing anything, to ensure that no one's unhappy. A good quality for a leader I must say, listening to your packmate's feelings before coming to a concrete decision in regards to things that would affect the pack. I always take mental notes of certain traits or qualities that separate a good leader, from a great one. I want to be the best leader I can be, for the good of the pack, and to make my parents proud. "Well, if you both are sure that Lonnie and Audrey won't mind..", Fairy Godmother trails off. So of course Mei clasps her hands together and gives her a very pleading look while slightly bouncing. Gods, she looks like a child begging to get a new toy or something. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

     "Oh all right, but if Lonnie comes to my office complaining about this.", Headmistress Fairy Godmother sighs. I let out a happy squeal and hug her from across her desk. "Thank you Fairy Godmother, you won't regret this!", Peeta says as he rushes over to enthusiastically shake Headmistress Fairy Godmother's hand after I release her from our hug. "I should hope so. Now, run along all of you, or else you'll be late to class.", Headmistress Fairy Godmother tells us. OH NO, I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT CLASS! "Thank you!", I yell as I rush out the door. "Woah, where's the fire?", Peeta jokingly asks as the 3 of them catch up with me. "Some people like to be on time for class.", Katniss quips. I look over at them, and Peeta wrinkles his nose at her. "I'm on time for class!", Peeta defends. Katniss playfully rolls her eyes. Gosh, those 2 are so cute together. "Yeah, only because I drag you there. Otherwise you'd have more tardies than Glimmer.", Katniss replies. Huh I wonder who Glimmer is. She must be a classmate from their old school. Cato laughs at their antics as we're leaving the building. "How long have you 2 been dating?", I ask them. Peeta shoots Katniss a smile, which she happily returns. I want someone to look at me like that one day. "We'd been dating for a few years before Peeta finally got the courage to ask me to marry him.", Katniss says. I let out a gasp. I had no idea they were married. I yank Cato to the side and take his place. Peeta and Katniss start laughing, and it takes me a moment to realize what I've done. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

 

     I stepped to the side when Mei tried to pull me out of her way, so she wouldn't dislocate her shoulder trying to pull something out of her lifting range. Here I thought Peeta was the biggest hopeless romantic I'd ever meet, yet I stand corrected. She covers her mouth as Peeta and Katniss burst out into laughter at her eagerness to learn more about their marriage. Mei whips her head so quickly in my direction, I was briefly worried she'd snap her neck. "I am so sorry that was incredibly rude of me! I got a little over excited, please accept my apology.", Mei quickly rambles out once she removed her hand from her mouth. "A little might be a bit of an understatement.", I jest. I'd usually become enraged if someone just casted me to the side like that, but it's clear she meant no harm. She immediately apologized for it as well, I see no reason to hold a grudge over it. She lightly laughs. "Yeah, maybe.", she softly agrees. Gods, she's looking at me like that again. She has an awestruck look to her face, that in a way blends with her usually shy innocent expression. I clear my throat as I look away. I can never directly look at her for long when she's like that. "So what's your 1st class?", Katniss asks her. "Oh, History class.", Mei replies. Katniss pulls out her schedule, causing Peeta to immediately do the same. "It looks like we have Chemistry for 1st period.", Peeta states. Mei sadly looks down. "I have History for 1st period.", I say. Mei snaps her head up, and the smile she shoots me could blind the sun. I wonder if it's too late to transfer to Chemistry class instead. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

 

     "You can sit next to me in class if you'd like.", I offer Cato. I know how uncomfortable and lonely it can feel to sit by yourself in class while everyone else is with their friends. "I'll think about it.", Cato vaguely says. Well, at least he didn't flat out say no. I can't really complain, progress is still progress. We reach the building where most of the classrooms are. I turn to Peeta and Katniss. "Oh! Will you need my help finding the Chemistry classroom?", I ask them. Peeta sends me a grateful smile. "I'm sure we can find it just fine on our own, and if not I can always use a locating spell to find it. We wouldn't want to make you late to your class.", Peeta dismissively says. Aww, thoughtful and considerate of him. "If you plan on using a locating spell, you'd better do it out here. Magic isn't actually banned here, but it's not exactly encouraged either. Some of the more strict teachers will give students detention if they're caught using magic or brewing potions without permission.", I inform Peeta. I'd feel so guilty if Peeta got detention for using magic because I wasn't here to help him. "As long as it's not harming anyone, why should it matter if someone uses magic or not?", Katniss asks. "Some teachers think it gives some students more of an advantage than others, and that it promotes cutting corners in life.", I say. "Life is unfair, some people will have certain advantages than others. Some people are bound to cut corners, it's inevitable. It's better to prepare students for that, than to give them false hope that everything will be just fair and peachy their whole lives.", Cato points out. Wow, he's so intelligent.. Stop gushing over him already brain! It's getting out of hand already. 

* * *

 


	7. A Lot

 

**Cato's POV:**

     I can sense Mei's feelings towards me growing quite rapidly. Katniss and Peeta both shoot me surprised looks while trying to contain their laughter, once they finally catch on. How can they both possibly think this is funny at all? They won't be laughing if I end up hurting her feelings. I shoot them a glare, then grab Mei's shoulders, and I push her forward. "Come on, they'll be fine. Let's get to class, before we're late. You seemed to be fairly concerned about that a moment ago.", I urge her. I can feel how alarmed she instantly becomes. Her eyes widen before she grabs my wrist and starts sprinting. "Good luck finding your class!", she shouts over her shoulder as we run around the side of the building. I wonder if all humans run this slow, or if Mei's just out of shape. She soon runs out of breath, and stops. She hunches over and heavily pants. "Is this History class much further?", I ask her. She straightens up. "It's.. around.. the... corner...", she pants. Great, it will take her minutes before she's able to carry on. "Why is being punctual this important to you?", I question. "History.. paper.. due at.. the... beginning.. of the hour... 30%.. of my... grade.", she manages to convey between her gasps for breath. Now it makes sense. I let out a sigh, before scooping her up in my arms. She's of course still out of breath, so she can't exactly voice out a complaint. I jog around the corner and continue until she stops me. I gently place her down on the ground, and I can't tell if she's flushed from running earlier or because I carried her. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

     I can't believe Cato was willing to carry me so we wouldn't be late, that was so sweet of him. "Um, thank you. You run really fast by the way.", I compliment as we enter the building. Ugh, I hate how flustered he makes me feel though! "You're welcome, and you just happen to run extremely slow, so of course my speed seems greater in comparison.", Cato replies as we make our way down a crowded hallway. A little too crowded for my person taste, but I'll live. "Hey, I don't run THAT slow.", I reply. I look back when I don't get a response, and notice that I'm starting to lose Cato to the crowd. I stop so he can catch up with me, then I grab his wrist. I try not to blush as we make our way to class. I'm actually pretty surprised that he's let me drag him around everywhere to be honest. I figured he would've yanked his hand out of my grasp, and snap that he can keep up just fine. "In that case, humans are very sluggish.", he tells me as we stop in front of the door to our History class. "Compared to you, yes.", I giggle before opening the door. It looks like most of the class is already here. I quickly walk to the front of the class with my head down. I slip my backpack off of my shoulders, and dig around for my History paper. I fish it out after a moment and place it in the submission basket. I zip up my bag, slide it back onto my shoulders then hurry towards the back of the classroom. I can hear snickers all around me, and I was so focused on that, that I didn't notice someone stick their leg out into the aisle. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

    Everyone is so amused my Mei, and not in a good way. It's clear that she's targeted for everyone else's amusement. Who knew a place as square as Auradon Prep could be home to such harsh individuals? I spot a stray leg intentionally in Mei's path, that she clearly doesn't notice until she's tripped by it. I of course rush forward and catch her before she has a chance to hit the ground. I steady her as she straightens herself out. Disappointed murmurs echo through the classroom. I shoot a glare in the direction of the person who was responsible. The girl quirks her brow at me as she crosses her arms. "What're you looking at me for? It's not my fault the loser's a klutz.", this girl remarks. Causing what I'm assuming is her friend group to erupt in a fit of laughter. A low growl emits from my throat. How can these women act so heartless? We don't stand for this kind of bullying at Werepack Prep. A huge wave of embarrassment drowns the room. I turn my attention back towards Mei, and she of course is on the verge of tears. "Leave it Cato, let's just go sit down.", she murmurs. I reluctantly follow her to the back of the classroom. She dejectedly sits down. I silently take the seat next to her. "You know, you shouldn't let everyone push you around like this.", I lowly say. I don't want her to feel any more embarrassment than she's already feeling by me drawing everyone's attention back towards her. She slowly shakes her head. "That would only make things worse.", she whispers. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

     I couldn't thank Cato enough for catching me, it would've been so much worse if I'd actually hit the floor. I know he wants to help, but he'd only make things worse for me. It's not like I can always have him around to catch me, he's leaving in just a few months. "Doing nothing already makes things worse. The more you let other people take advantage of you, the more they'll do it. They'll push you until you snap, is that what you want?", Cato asks me. Must he always be so insightful all the time? "I'm sorry but I'm just not a confrontational person.", I tell him. He doesn't say anything else and class starts, our teacher introduces him to everyone. There were a few girls that were clearly checking him out when he was asked to stand up. I tried not to look as hurt as I felt when that happened. I feel so selfish about it, I should be happy that they weren't looking at him in disgust. That's a great step in the right direction, acceptance is just around the corner at that rate. Of course Ally and her friends didn't look too impressed. It must be because he stood up for me. Why did he have to do that? He just made it that much harder for him to blend in. He's probably on their shit list now. If that's the case, Princess Audrey's friend group will torment BOTH of us now. I could never forgive myself if Cato was picked on because of me. Class seems to breeze by, and the bell rings before I know it. I slowly rise and start to gather my things. I hear someone giggle out 'klutz' as the majority of the class leaves the room.

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

    Teaching Mei to stand up for herself will definitely be a challenge, but not impossible. She really seemed to grow a backbone for a moment there when Chad was trying to instigate a fight earlier. It's understandable that she'd find it easier to stand up for others rather than herself. She clearly lacks self esteem, but she has a good heart. She tucks her head away in embarrassment after some girl laughs out the word 'klutz' as her and her friend group passes by. I gather my stuff a few moments before she's able to. "What's your next class?", I question as she swings her backpack onto her shoulders. "Oh, Chemistry.", she replies. I bring my schedule into view as we leave the classroom. "So do I thankfully.", I inform her. At least if I'm with her she hopefully won't be harassed as much, or I can at least step in and interfere when necessary. Hope blooms from her chest cavity. "Thankfully?", she asks while glancing over at me with a smile. Oh boy, I'm assuming she thinks it's because I want to spend time with her, or possibly even like her. "Yes, I need you to show me where this classroom is located as well.", I explain to her. I don't mention my other reasoning for such an exclamation of course. She clearly doesn't want to be seen or treated as the 'damsel in distress'. Disappointment faintly stains the air. That definitely wasn't the response she was looking for. I'd tell her not to let her hopes rise any further, but then I'd risk damaging her self esteem even further. I might not tolerate most people, but I'm not a mean or hurtful person. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

    Of course that's why he was glad we have another class together. Ugh, stupid brain, stop getting your hopes up! We bump into Katniss and Peeta on the way to Chemistry. "Hey guys!", I cheerfully greet. Katniss and Peeta both smile at us. "Hey, how did History class go?", Peeta asks us. "Someone thought it'd be funny to trip Mei when she was returning to her desk. Otherwise it was pretty bland.", Cato tells them. They didn't need to know that part about me almost face planting in front of everyone.. "What, are you okay?", Katniss asks me with a concerned look on her face. "I caught her before she hit the ground.", Cato informs them. "I can speak for myself you know..", I mutter as I turn my head away. I hear Katniss giggle as Peeta lets out a snort. Oh no.. I whip my head back in their direction, and I probably looked like a deer caught in headlights. Cato has an amused look on his face. "You do realize that our hearing is far superior to you humans right?", he snorts. NO! I would've kept that thought to myself if I knew that! "I am so sorry I didn't mean to-", I start before Cato raises his hand to silence me. "Never apologize for not being an absolute doormat. We need to work on that self confidence of yours.", Cato says. I'm not usually THAT much of a doormat.. Wait a moment, did he say we? "We?", Peeta asks with a smirk. Why does he have that look on his face? Maybe he's happy that Cato's kinda starting to warm up to me? If so, then he's not the only one. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

    I roll my eyes at Peeta's facial expression. "Yes WE, WE'RE going to help her since she can't seem to do so herself. Unless you don't want to be of assistance?", I ask him. His smirk drops. "I didn't mean to imply that I didn't want to help, of course I will. You in, Katniss?", he shifts in Katniss' direction to ask. She shoots him a look that implies that he doesn't even need to ask. He nods in understanding. "As much as I appreciate all of you wanting to help me, we'll have to worry about that later. We'll be late for class if we keep standing around here.", Mei points out. Honestly fixing her issues would be much more rewarding, and not to mention more entertaining, than Chemistry. "We can finish this conversation during lunch then?", Peeta asks. Mei nods her head before she bids them farewell, and then proceeds to drag me by the wrist once again. I'm used to it at this point, and I'll allow it since she's doing it to ensure that she doesn't lose me in the crowd. We reach the Chemistry classroom, and once again occupy two seats in the back of the classroom. Things go almost exactly how they did in History, I'm introduced to the class, offhanded whispers and snickers are made at Mei's expense. The only difference is that no one attempted to trip her again. The other two classes we have after this one slowly passes by in a blur. Nothing significant happened anyhow, I just received some textbooks and homework. Lunchtime is finally here, as the bell signally fourth period's end chimes. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

     Cato tells me that we're meeting Peeta and Katniss by their lockers, so we call all go to lunch together. My nerves are on edge at the thought of setting foot in the cafeteria again. I don't verbally express how I feel, but I'm sure Cato can sense it. His facial expression ever so slightly softens as he gently grabs my wrist. My breath hitches and my heart stutters in my chest. "I don't know where their lockers are located, so you'll have to lead the way once again.", he tells me while glancing away. "Did you want to stop by your locker 1st so you could drop those books off?", I ask him. He nods, so I ask for his schedule. I lead him to his locker, then after he places his textbooks inside, we go look for Katniss and Peeta. We see them standing around Katniss' locker, they smile once they notice us approaching them. "Hey, were your other classes any better?", Peeta asks me. I nod as Cato scoffs. "Technically yes due to the fact that no one else attempted to put her off balance. The whispers and laughter was still ever present on the other hand.", Cato tells them. I quirk my brow at him. I didn't hear anyone say anything, I just always assume they are. Then I remember that Cato's hearing is a lot better than mine. "Seriously?", Katniss asks. Cato gives her a pointed look. "Do I look like I'm joking?", he dead pans. "Well then what're we doing still standing around here? We've got our work cut out for us.", Peeta says. I can't help but giggle at his positive attitude that he almost always seems to wear. It's so refreshing compared to all the other 'positive' students around here.

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

    "You've got a real winner there Katniss.", I laugh out as we proceed to make our exit. "Oh don't I know it.", Katniss fondly replies. "You're right, I'm definitely the real winner here. After all, I got to marry the love of my life.", Peeta sweetly says to Katniss. Gods, it looks like they're getting sappy again. I have no issue with that, I'm glad they could find love and happiness in each other. Though I must admit sometimes I feel slightly envious of them whenever they're like this. I don't have the privilege to marry someone I feel such a strong romantic connection towards. I'm not ungrateful in any sense of the term of course. I know my place, and I look forward to being pack leader. I knew what responsibilities that meant very early on in life. That doesn't of course halt this longing that these two tend to bring out of me. I sense this longing coming from another source other than myself as we make our way outside. I look for the source, and I of course don't have to look very far to know where it's coming from. It looks like Mei struggles with this more than I do, which isn't really a surprise since the majority of the student body thinks of her as a joke. "We aren't going to the cafeteria again are we?", Mei hesistanly asks as fear rolls off her. Katniss and Peeta turn around, and everyone stops walking. "I can conjure up lunch for everyone if you'd like?", Peeta offers with sending calming vibes her way. She visibly relaxes, and nods in response. It appears that this morning's events have scarred her for the time being. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

    Thank goodness I don't have to go back there so soon! I didn't pack a picnic basket before hand, so my options would've been to either tough it out and go back there, or starve. "Where do you usually consume your lunches?", Cato asks me. "At the Enchanted Lake.", I reply as I start walking in the direction of the lake in question, everyone follows. "Do you guys not have regular picnic tables here?", Cato snorts. "We do, I just prefer to eat at the lake. The scenery is quite beautiful there.", I explain. That isn't the only reason, but I don't want to bring up certain issues I have with some of my classmates. The last thing I need is for them to pity me even more than they already do. "Ah, a fellow nature lover.", Peeta comments. I smile at him. "Yeah, I just feel so at peace whenever I'm sitting quietly outside.", I say. "Yes, serenity is one of the many wonderful things about nature.", Cato agrees. We eventually reach the edge of Auradon Prep. "How long does it usually take you to get to this lake?", Katniss asks me. "Not too long, around 10 minutes.", I reply. "Wait what? You walk for 10 minutes just to eat lunch?", Peeta asks with a surprised expression. Well yeah, I've never thought it was that weird.. I let out a surprised squeak as Cato picks me up for the 2nd time today. I try my hardest not to blush. What is he trying to do to me? "Which direction is your lake? If we keep going at your pace lunch period will be over by the time we reach there.", Cato asks me. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

    I can sense Katniss and Peeta's utter bewilderment by my course of action. Which isn't at all a surprise of course, I don't usually carry others around. Though I've never needed to previously, since our pack mates can keep up with me fairly well. "Um, just k-keep going in that d-direction until the land starts to s-slope downwards.", Mei flusteredly instructs me while pointing North. "Let's go then.", I tell the stunned duo next to me before I take off. They quickly catch up with me as we make our way across the forest. Mei's nervous energy is soon replaced by enjoyment. She starts letting out oddly cute giggles and squeals whenever we leap over any obstacle or take longer strides to clear more ground. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that those particular noises make me slightly uncomfortable when they're coming from her. She instructs us to change directions and to continue in said direction, then to slow in pace when a bridge comes into view. We carefully cross the bridge, then eventually stumble upon the lake. "Wasn't this better than walking for ten minutes at that snail's pace?", I ask our small group as I set Mei down. She defensively crosses her arms. "I'm human remember? It's not my fault I can't run at top speed like you can.", she reminds me. I let out a light laugh as we move to sit down on the circular stone that overlaps the lake. "Wow, I can see why they call this the Enchanted Lake.", Katniss remarks. Mei giggles once again, it feels like she never stops doing that. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

     "It's not called the Enchanted Lake because of the scenery, although that might have played a minor part in the name. The water's magic, it can wash away enchantments and other various spells, to a certain degree.", I tell Katniss. She looks slightly surprised for some reason. "Fascinating.", Cato comments. Do they not have magic in nature at their side of the forest? Peeta claps his hands together, causing everyone to look at him. "So, what do we feel like eating today?", he asks everyone. "Mei HAS to try your bread!", Katniss exclaims. I immediately nod my head in agreement. After all the bragging Katniss did about Peeta's baking skills, I couldn't imagine eating anything else for lunch. "Sandwiches would be a good option then.", Cato suggests. I glance over at him, and my brain immediately thinks back to a few moments ago when I was still in his arms.. "Sandwiches are 1 of my favorite things to eat on a picnic! Oooo, what's your favorite kind of sandwich?", I blurt out. He snorts while looking in the opposite direction. "I've never seen anyone get THIS excited over sandwiches before, although Katniss does come in at a close second whenever Peeta makes them.", Cato comments as Katniss playfully shoves his shoulder. He turns to look at her before shoving back. "Okay now, let's not turn this into practice fight.", Peeta laughs out. I quirk my brow. Doesn't he mean a play fight? "Practice fight? Is that the same thing as play fighting?", I ask. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

     Curiosity tinges the air. "First off, to ask your previous question, turkey with gouda on pumpernickel. Secondly, play fighting is something that younger shapeshifters do. Practice fighting is pretty self explanatory actually, practice so one is more prepared for an actual fight.", I explain. "Though we can see how that'd be confusing for someone who wasn't brought up that way.", Peeta quickly tacts on. What is he doing damage control for? I thought I explained it in a nice way, I guess not nice enough for Peeta's personal taste. "Turkey sandwiches sound good.", she replies. That's all she says, but the curiosity still lingers. Peeta nods and gets to work on that. Katniss isn't a particularly picky eater, she'll devour mostly any type of food. Peeta of course is a people pleaser, and would much rather go along with whatever the other party wants when it comes to trivial things like this. "I can tell there's something else your curious about.", I prod. She looks slightly off put by my statement. "Am I that scary that you're hesitant to ask a simple question?", I ask her with the tilt of my head. It's a good thing to come off as intimidating in the presence of someone from a different pack, but not so much in regards to fellow packmates. I don't want to come across as a door mat, but I want to be approachable. If a packmate has an issue with something, they need to feel comfortable enough to share that issue with me. If I can get Mei to fully feel at ease with me, then getting my pack to feel the same will be a walk in the park. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

    I playfully quirk my brow at Cato as I cross my arms. "Well you WERE pretty snappy yesterday.", I remark. He smiles at me before bursting into laughter. He calms down as Peeta magically lays out a picnic blanket and our food. "Good point. Where is this little bit of confidence whenever you're around your other classmates?", he asks me. I look down and pick up my sandwich, immediately taking a bite out of it. "Mmmm this is delicious.", I comment after I swallow. "Thank you, but come on. You said we'd talk about this during lunch.", Peeta brings up. Darn it, why'd I have to agree to that. I let out a sigh. "I don't know, I'm just, not very good in social situations.", I admit. Cato snoffs as he rips a chunk of his sandwich off with his mouth. "You seemed pretty eloquent when you gave us that tour of the campus yesterday.", Cato tells me. I take a sip of drink before responding. "Well yeah, but that was different.", I defend. "Shouldn't it be easier to be more outspoken with people you've known for a long time than strangers you've just met?", Katniss asks me. I lightly chuckle. You'd think so, but it's actually the complete opposite, with a few exceptions. I can talk to King Ben, Lady Mal, and her friend group which now includes Jane, just fine. "It's just, better not to say anything at all. Than to say the wrong thing to the wrong person.", I sigh. I don't have to look up to see the concerned looks on their faces. "Has something, more serious than Chad attempting to slap you, happened before?", Peeta cautiously asks me.

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

    Uncertainty mixes with doubt. "You told me yesterday that you trusted me, well prove it. Have an open and honest conversation with me.", I tell her. She lifts her head to look at me. That longing feeling hits the air again, mixed with fear. "Are you sure that's what you want?", she asks while making eye contact with me. Determination soon overtakes fear. I immediately know that she wants to talk about more than her classmate problem. Well, we had to get this out of the way eventually. "Yes.", I answer without breaking eye contact. "Come on Peeta, I have a feeling these 2 have a lot to talk about.", Katniss says as she rises. Peeta hops to his feet, teleports his and her drinks and sandwiches into their hands. "We'll see you both later, okay?", Peeta says. "Of course.", Mei answers without taking her eyes off of me. They jog off, and I wait until they're well out of earshot before speaking. "So what would you like to address 1st then?", I ask her. I'll let her have control over the conversation, since prodding would only cause her to completely close off. "Let's start with my, classmate issue, since you seem the most interested in that.", she replies. Don't think I can't see through that cheap stalling tactic. "You mean let's talk about your 'classmate issue', because that's what you feel most comfortable discussing at the moment?", I correct. She offers me a half smile. "I hate how well you can read me.", she comments. Amusement tints the air, and I can tell that my ability to pick up on her emotions doesn't really bother her. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

     Cato's facial expression soon turns serious. I'm not looking forward to this conversation 1 bit, but he asked for an open and honest conversation. That's exactly what I'll give him. "I hate how you are perfectly able to stand up to others for my or my packmates' behalf, yet fail miserably to do so for yourself. Why is that, and what happened to you that caused you to become this much of a doormat?", Cato asks. I take a deep breath. "It's hard being the younger sister of 'the perfect daughter', and I learned pretty early on that Lonnie was the favorite of the family. She was the example set for what a good daughter should be. I've never been able to live up to that though, I'm not like her, and no matter what I did it was never good enough. For the longest time at Auradon Prep, everyone knew me as Lonnie's little sister. In time they just easily forgot about me as Lonnie's talents started to outshine me more and more. I was just insignificant in comparison, and I was pretty sad about that for a while. I started being less outgoing, and became more introverted. Some people noticed, none cared to comment on it. When Lonnie eventually saw some changes in me, she tried to help in her own way. She'd drag me around with her wherever she went, making everyone she hung around with spend time with me as well. I guess she figured that if people got to know me better, maybe they'd want to be friends. It never went well really, everyone was polite, but the whole situation felt forced. 

 

  
     I made different excuses as to why I couldn't hang out with her and her friends anymore, then eventually she stopped asking. Every once and a while she'll ask if I wanna tag along with her somewhere for some reason, I always turn her down. Things were like that for while, me just quietly in the background, until King Ben noticed how lonely I truly was. So him being the kind person he is, made the effort to seek me out a lot during his free time. We become friends, and I slowly started coming out of my shell once again. I admired him greatly, and I still do, but his then girlfriend Princess Audrey didn't like that very much. She accused me of trying to steal King Ben away from her, I tried to tell her that that wasn't the case at all, but she didn't believe me. She cried to all of her friends about it, and King Ben's assurances weren't enough for her either. So to save his relationship and his friendships, we stopped spending any time together. He wouldn't acknowledge me outside of the occasional head nod. Even after we stopped hanging out, Princess Audrey's resentment remained, and so did all her friends. They've all hated me ever since. Things didn't used to be this bad of course, until King Ben broke up with her for Lady Mal. Lady Mal and her friends were the only ones who weren't unkind towards me, and I think that's why Princess Audrey's still mad. When some of my classmates 1st started acting rude towards me, I politely asked them to stop. Once they wouldn't stop, I finally snapped back at them. They ended up almost drowning me in 1 of the toilets in the women's bathroom. I was taken to the nurses' office, and asked by everyone what had happened, but I was too afraid to talk about it. I've never really talked about any of this, until now.", I confide. After a moment of silence I look over Cato's facial expression, and I think this is the 1st time I've ever really seen Cato completely stunned.

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

     The tale Mei's just told me is quite sad, and almost unbelievable. If I hadn't already seen how abusive her classmates are, I'd question her sincerity. I can sense how sensitive and overly emotional she feels after revealing something so personal. She looks like she's close to tears once again today. I let out a sigh before sliding over, so I'm sitting next to her. She looks confused at my actions, but does not object. I cautiously bring her into a side hug, giving her plenty of time to lean away or verbally expression her not wanting me to touch her. She however leans into my touch, and rests her head on my shoulder. I didn't expect her to feel this emotionally drained, perhaps it'd be best to talk about her other feelings another time. "We can stop this conversation now if you'd like?", I offer. Now would be her opportunity to back out, I don't really think she could handle any more angst at the moment. "There's no point in that is there? Let's just finish this right now. You said you can sense emotions right?", she asks. I remain silent but nod, bracing myself for her proclamation of love, and mentally preparing an honest yet gentle response. "Then have you sensed how I feel about-", she starts before my cell phone rings. She sits up as I retrieve my cell phone from my pants pocket. I read the caller ID and immediately rise. "It's my father, I have to take this, I'll only be a moment.", I inform her before jogging a few feet into the forest. I don't wait for a reply from her because I already know she'd have no objection. I accept the call before pressing the phone against my ear. "Hello father.", I greet. 

* * *

 


	8. Just Us

 

**Cato's POV:**

     "Greetings son. Destroyed any possible future allies to us with your foul temper yet?", my father questions. I see we're getting down to business immediately then, and casting all pleasantries aside. "No, and I don't intend to do so father. I am keeping the best interest of our pack in mind, always.", I respond. "Good, good, that's what I like to hear. Keep up that mindset and you've be a fine leader.", my father compliments. I slightly beam at his praise. My father may see quite cold and detached compared to the fathers here at Auradon, but in reality he treats me like an equal when it comes to serious topics that must be discussed. When pack duties and responsibilities aren't involved, he's much softer and takes up more of those typical father like qualities. "Thank you, father.", I reply. "Yes well, making sure that you were staying out of trouble wasn't the only reason I called.", my father informs me. This is regarding something serious I'm assuming. His voice would've turned into a more light hearted one otherwise. "Is there trouble with a rival pack?", I ask. "No no, nothing of the sort thankfully. When you return from your stay at Auradon Prep, I think it's time you finally ascend to pack leader. If all goes well and you're able to forge an alliance with fairly closed minded human, then you're more than ready to lead this pack.", my father tells me. I could almost howl with excitement! I assumed it'd be years before father thought I was ready! This has to be the happiest moment of my life. "Thank you Father! You won't regret your decision I will be the best pack leader I can be, and make you, mother, and all our fellow packmates proud.", I gush. My father lets out an amused chuckle. "I know you will my boy, but there's just, one more thing that must be done before you can be appointed.", my father informs me. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

     My anxiety is killing me, figuratively. I know he's gonna shut me down, I'm just not sure if he's going to act harsh or not. If he was still acting the way he was yesterday, then I'd brace for the worst. Today he's been much kinder towards me, and that almost gives me hope that he might like me too. Which I obviously know isn't the case, who would even think about liking someone like me? He'll just, let me down a bit easier in his own way. He might be a bit rough around the edges, but he's not a bad or mean person. After a little bit Cato comes back with a blank look on his face. "Hey, how did things go with your father?", I ask him as he sits back down next to me. He looks away for a moment before picking up his sandwich. "Fine, he was just checking in on me and such.", he replies. I pick up my sandwich as well, and we finish our meal in silence. Is it just me or does things almost feel, disconnected, now? I wonder what really happened during that call. He doesn't seem okay.. "Our afternoon classes will be starting soon.", he remarks. I try not to sigh as I stand up. I guess it's not the right time to talk about my little crush, which is fine. Gives me time to get over this feeling. I feel him grab my wrist, so turn in his direction. He's standing up too, but looking down for some reason. He's really not okay, I can tell... "Hey, I'm not exactly sure what happened, and I won't push you to talk about it if you're not ready to. Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help you, okay?", I tell him after taking a step towards him and making eye contact. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

    Why does she constantly have to treat me with such kindness? Always smiling at me, giggling, blushing, happy to be around me. So delicate, fragile, like a glass figurine. I drop her wrist. She takes a step closer and slightly raising her arms, not verbally asking for permission. The question is in her eyes, I bring her in and let her hug me. She rubs circles in my back, attempting to comfort me without even knowing what the problem is. Respecting me enough not to push the subject, letting me be. She lets go after a few moments, not being overly clingy. Not doing this for herself, but for me. "What do you usually do for fun?", I ask her. She looks fairly stunned at my question of course, since it did come out of nowhere unprompted. "I don't really get out much, I'm usually in my dorm studying or reading. I go for walks sometimes, and that's about all.", she informs me. Well I can't say that's too surprising, I doubt her joining any clubs would go over too well. Though there are plenty of other hobbies she could branch out into. "We'll have to fix that, I'm sure Katniss and Peeta would be more than happy to share with you their hobbies.", I tell her. I can feel that the idea pleases her, but that she's thinking of a way to get out of it. "I wouldn't really wanna impose on the things they-", she starts before I cut her off. "You're making excuses. Let me guess, you have a fear of failing and not being able to live up to your sister's accomplishments?", I ask her. Fleeting defensiveness drowned out by vulnerability tinges the air. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

     Darn it, forgot there's no sense in being dishonest with him. I nod my head. "Don't compare yourself to anyone, even if that person is your sister. That's not helping your self esteem one bit. I understand looking at someone else and using that to strive to do better, but you're using it as an excuse to not try at all. That's not acceptable.", Cato tells me. That's easier said than done, especially when everyone else compares me to her. "Even if I stopped doing that, everyone else would still compare me to her anyway. There's not much of a point in that.", I explain to him. He runs a hand through his hair, and I try not to stare at the motion too much. "That doesn't matter okay? It doesn't matter what others may say or think about you, it matters what you say and think about yourself. Don't let others negatively affect you like that.", he says to try and convince me to try more. I bend down to start cleaning things up, but Cato stops me. "I'll text Peeta and have him teleport this.", he brushes off. "Why are you so focused on my self esteem and how I interact with other people?", I ask him. He went from wanting nothing to do with me, to wanting to help me so much. I'm really happy about that, I am, I just don't really get why. Him wanting nothing to do with me made more sense. "If I have to watch you be everyone's punching bag for the rest of the semester, I'll go insane.", he claims as he starts leading me away from the Enchanted Lake and back to the school grounds. "Why does it bother you so much?", I try asking. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

     Watching someone much weaker than everyone else being put down, so that any chance personal growth is trampled, is truly unfortunate. Completely unfair, especially when certain individuals could be so much more. "I can tell that you're unhappy, and that no one else is prepared to do anything to help you. You, deserve better than this. If you'll give yourself the chance, you could be so much more.", I admit. I believe I was so annoyed by her initially because I wanted her to be just as terrible as Audrey and Chad. That her kindness was nothing more than a front, and her willingness to help was just an excuse to kiss up to her King. "I'm happy, sort of... What if, this is me? What if this is as good as it gets? Would you be disappointed?", she asks me as we come to the bridge. I stop her, and give her a pointed look. At least she was partially able to admit that things aren't unicorns and rainbows for her. "I'll be disappointed if you decide to give up before you even begin. I know there's more to you than being a cheerful yet defenseless pretty 'princess'.", I reply. I hear her heart stutter. "Y-you think I'm, pretty?", she asks with wide eyes. I let out a snort. Of course that'd be what she focuses on. I suppose I can cut her some slack, I doubt she's used to being complimented regarding her looks. "That's really all you got from what I said?", I ask in an amused tone of voice. She immediately shakes her head before clearing her throat. She looks away and out into the forest. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

      "I'm not asking you to change the core of who you are. There's nothing wrong with that part of you. Keep an open mind, and don't be afraid to try some new things. I think that starting with something like hobbies would be less daunting than standing up to your snobby classmates. It would definitely help you branch out and build up some confidence.", Cato tells me. I'm still trying to recover from him calling me pretty. He didn't deny it either, and now he's saying there's nothing wrong with who I really am. He just wants to build of my confidence and stuff like that. "Here I thought you disliked me, and would jump at the chance to change all of me.", I joke in a lame attempt put off agreeing to let him and his friends help me. "Don't think I can't see what you're doing. Just for the record though, I like you the way you are.", he says before starting to walk kinda fast in the direction of the school. I force myself to keep up with him while my brain completely blanks out, and my heart flutters like crazy. He likes me, I heard that correctly didn't I? I know he meant as a friend but still. I wasn't expecting us to reach that point so soon. "Okay, I'll do it.", I pant out right before we hit the school grounds. He stops to let me catch my breath I'm assuming, he'd have no trouble responding while walking. "I'm assuming you're referring to trying some new things? Also you weren't even jogging this time, how are you out of breath?", he asks me. "Out of.. shape.. remember?", I pant out. "Clearly, we'll have to work on that as well if you plan to spend so much time with us.", he tells me. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

     I give her a few moments to catch her breath. Her lack of stamina is quite amusing in this case, in other cases it would be quite unfortunate. "Maybe that's not such a bad idea either.", she says as she straightens herself out and brushes off her dress. Not entirely sure what she's brushing off but I won't call her out on it. "Let's have lunch again tomorrow.", I say as we continue our trek back to the school building. Excitement bubbles over, quite refreshing from all the internal panicking from me saying that I didn't dislike her. "That'd be great! I can't wait to see what Peeta will-", she excitedly starts rambling before I sling my arm over her shoulder. She stops mid ramble, her heart rate increases, her emotions rapidly shift, and she almost trips over air. "I meant, just us.", I clarify. I almost choke on the amount of hope and joy that clouds the air. Are all women this simple, or is it just human women? "J-just us? Almost like a?..", she rasps out. Maybe her simplicity is special to her. It wouldn't be the only thing that's special to her. "A date?", I finish for her. Now she really trips this time. I easily catch and steady her. We're in clear view of the school building, now would not be the time to make a big scene of things. Let's see if she can keep it together for the remainder of the school day. "Yeah but t-that's obviously not what you meant right? My dumb brain was just-", she starts rambling out. I cover her mouth with my hand. "We really do need to work on your self esteem if you think that little of yourself.", I say before removing my hand from her mouth. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

     DOES THAT MEAN? NO, it can't be, there's no way. Yet it really seems like he's implying.. "So then?", I whisper out. He lets out a sigh before wrapping his arm around my shoulder again. I try to remember to breathe as he urges us to keep walking. "I am, officially asking you on a date.", he tells me. I try my best to act cool, but I'm sure he can feel how much I'M FREAKING OUT ON THE INSIDE. I've never been asked out or on a date before! No one's ever looked at me like that before. "So do you accept?", he snorts. OH! I didn't think it was an open question. I look at him and brightly smile. "Of course I accept!", I exclaim. Oops, that probably came off as too cheery. I slightly blush and look ahead when I realize how desperate I probably sounded. "Your cheery nature oddly works for you.", Cato comments. He must've felt my embarrassment, and he wanted to reassure me. "Oh um, thank you.", I shyly say. He can be really sweet when he wants to be. He reaches into his pocket with his free hand, and starts messaging someone. "I'm letting Peeta know he can teleport the remnants of our lunch. I've also asked what his and Katniss' next class is.", he says. We walk into the part of the building that holds all our afternoon classes. He lets his arm fall from my shoulders and shifts away a bit. I'd be hurt by this if the hallways weren't really crowded. He's probably not comfortable showing that much physical affection in front of crowds. That's completely understandable. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

      "What's your next class?", she asks me. I slip my phone back into my pocket, and slide my bag off of my shoulders. I retrieve my class schedule. "I have home economics.", I inform her. Her excitement increases. "So do I!", she exclaims. Of course even little things such as this would make her happy, truly simple indeed. Her need to be around me is quite interesting and though I'd never care to admit it, quite pleasing. My phone buzzes in my pocket. So I fold then place my schedule in my empty pocket, before slipping on my back pack and fishing out my phone. "Apparently Peeta and Katniss also have Home Economics this period.", I inform her. No doubt she'll want us all to walk to class together. One can only hope she won't gush to those two about my proposal for lunch tomorrow. They'd no doubt thoroughly grill me as to why my drastic change of heart. I'm not in the mood for such things. "Eepp! That means we can all walk to class together and next to each other in class!", she chirps while slightly bouncing. A few passers by eye her funny. I place my hands on her shoulders to stop her bouncing. It works, but it doesn't wipe the huge grin plastered across her face. I inform Peeta that we'll be picking him and Katniss up from their lockers, as we have the same class. He asked about how lunch went, I ignore that. "We're meeting them by their lockers, so let's go before we're tardy.", I tell her. She immediately nods and goes to grab my wrist. I snatch her hand mid moment, and interlock my fingers with hers. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

     I can feel my face heat up, and I try to look away. Cato lightly yanks my hand, I whip my face back in his direction. "I can sense how you're feeling remember? There's no sense in hiding that it does no good.", he says while gesturing to my face. Oh shoot, he's right. I swallow before nodding my head and setting off in the direction of Katniss and Peeta's lockers. I'm not dragging Cato behind me this time, he walks in step with me. I never thought he'd wanna hold hands with me, especially in a crowded hall way. Maybe since it's a smaller show of PDA it doesn't really bother him. No one would really notice unless they were looking at our hands. I'm honestly still confused about all of this and why on Earth Cato would wanna go on a date with me. That's probably the 'low self esteem' talking, and I guess he sees something in me that I don't. After a few turns, we see Katniss and Peeta leaning against their lockers laughing at something. They look so content just being in each other's presence, I wonder if Cato and I could be like that 1 day. I know I'm getting way too ahead of myself, but it never hurts to hope. Cato drops my hand right before they notice us. Oh right, they probably still don't know about our date. Is it supposed to be a secret? Is that why he dropped my hand? I try not to feel too hurt as I warmly smile at them. "Hey guys!", I greet once we reach them. "Hey Mei, how'd the rest of you 2's lunch go?", Peeta immediately asks me. How am I supposed to answer that? I have to stop myself from looking over to Cato for the answer, that would surely make it look like someone's being dishonest about something. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

     Of course that oaf would ask her that right off the bat. "Good, those sandwiches had to be the best I've ever had.", Mei tells him. Oh thank God she's behaving some with intelligence. I know she picked up on the fact that I dropped her hand before we reached them. I could sense her disappointment and hurt. Peeta thanks her, but I can feel that her not answering the real question he was asking irked him. Peeta can be so impatient at times. "How'd your talk go?", Katniss bluntly asks. It seems that Peeta isn't the only impatient one at the moment. I don't really see how it's either of their business honestly. I don't sense any concern from them, just a burning curiosity. So they clearly don't think I was cruel to her, which is a good thing. "It was good as well, Cato convinced me to try out some new hobbies.", she tells them. I must say I'm pleasantly surprised that she didn't bring up the date this time either. I'll have to praise her for it later. "Like what?", Katniss follows up. If they're trying to make her slip up, they're doing a rather poor job at it. "I told her that we'd all share with her our own personal hobbies, see if she'll like any of them. I'm assuming that won't be an issue.", I tell them. Peeta immediately shakes his head. "Of course not, I'd love to teach her how to bake and paint.", Peeta says. "I'm always up for some bow practice and more time outdoors.", Katniss follows up. "It's settled then. Come on let's go, you don't want to make Ms. rainbows and sunshine here late do you?", I ask them. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

     "It seems like you're the 1 who's more worried about getting to class this time than I am. You know, we don't always make food in Home EC right?", I joke. Cato lightly chuckles while Peeta and Katniss laugh much harder. "You say that now, but when the tardy bell rings you'll be the only one of us panicking. As for food, I'm not the food obsessed baker of the group. He's standing to the left of me.", Cato replies. I let out a giggle as Katniss smirks, while Peeta sports an offended look on his face. I almost panic before he lightly slaps Cato's arm and dramatically rolls his eyes. Cato turns around and starts walking down the hallway, even though he has no idea where the Home EC classroom is. I jog after him while Katniss and Peeta walk behind me. I grab his wrist, and he turns to look at me. I'm still allowed to grab his wrist right? He doesn't complain or pull away. He lets me lead him and everyone else to the right classroom. I drop his wrist before walking in and taking the table in the very back. It's empty of course, and just big enough for the 4 of us. I sit in the very corner, and surprisingly enough Cato chooses to sit next to me. Peeta sits next to him, and Katniss takes the aisle seat. The class goes really well, and we all have a fun time. The 3 of them get introduced to the class, and no 1 shoot them any dirty looks! After Home EC, Cato and I sadly don't have any other classes with Katniss and Peeta. The next 3 classes all go about the same, except for people laughing at me and looking at me funny. That's something that always happens though, so it's fine.

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

     Our last class for the day FINALLY ends, and I drag Mei out of that room as soon as she has her belongings gathered. "We're meeting Katniss and Peeta by their lockers once again before heading to her new dorm. You still have to inform your sister and Audrey of this change.", I tell her. Her anxiety spikes up, but I can't tell if it's the prospect of telling Audrey or her sister that's making her nervous. I hold her hand once again. "Everything will work out fine, there's no need to be nervous.", I soothe. She shoots me a grateful smile, but still doesn't say anything. I of course have no idea how things will pan out once she breaks the news to them, and I'm sure she knows that as well. You know what they say though, it's the thought that counts. I don't let go of her hand once we reach the duo, they immediately notice. "Someone's a bit nervous about telling her sister and Audrey about the room change.", I calmly slide in before they start asking questions. Mei tucks a strand of hair behind her ear with her free hand, and looks away. Peeta shoots her a sympathetic look, and Katniss places a hand on her shoulder. Causing Mei to make eye contact with her. "Hey, it's gonna be okay. Cato, Peeta, and I will all be right here. Nothing bad is going to happen to you.", Katniss tells her in hopes of that calming her down. I see she thinks Mei's anxiety stems from having to talk to Audrey, but I don't entirely think that's her problem. "I know you'll all be there, and I'm grateful for that. Though I think I'm more worried about how my sister will take the news.", she admits. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

     "Didn't you say she was friends with Audrey?", Peeta asks me. I nod. That's not really my concern, they'll get along just fine. My real concern is how she'll react to me admitting that I volunteered to room with Katniss. We haven't even really made up after our fight last night, we haven't even spoken yet. "Then everything'll be fine.", Peeta dismisses. I nod again as if that would somehow convince me that Lonnie's the type of people who would take things lying down. Maybe she won't make an issue out of things since Katniss, Peeta, and Cato will all be there. She'd probably just ask to talk to me in private and drag me out of the room. Oh well, it's too late to back out now. I wouldn't wanna back out even if I had the chance though, I will not let Katniss go back there. That's not an option. "Determination looks good on you.", Cato comments before pulling me towards the door. "Oh, thank you, and niceness looks good on you.", I compliment back. I hear Peeta crack up behind us. We step outside and Cato starts walking even faster, he's almost jogging at this point. "It going this fast really necessary?", I pant out. He looks over at me, rolls his eyes, then slows his pace. "I wasn't even going fast, and to answer your question, yes. Before you lose your nerve.", he replies. I suppose he once again has a point there, the more I think on things, the more likely I'll be a nervous wreck when we get there. "Not fast for you maybe.", I snort. He rolls his eyes before yanking me towards him. I yelp before he swoops me up in his arms again. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

     "It this gonna become a regular thing for us?", Mei laughs out. She loves being this close to me and having this much physical contact, I can feel it. Well that's new, no one's actually wanted to be near me this much because they cared about me as a person. It's usually been because of me being an alpha. By default, alphas tend to pull crowds, it's just nature. Once they realized I'm not just any Alpha, but the future leader of the pack, they'd see me as an opportunity. To move up in the ranks and to show off to their peers. Katniss and Peeta were a different story. They're not afraid to try and put me in my place if they disagree with something, they've never tried to put me on a pedestal. I appreciate that, few others care to see me for more than my title. Even Clove is guilty of going along with things, always having calculated responses towards me. Whether she claims she's just practicing being a good mate, or because she refuses to get on my bad side and risk not being chosen. It's quite odd because everyone knows that there isn't really an other option besides Clove, she the best suited for the job. "If you want it to be.", I tell her. She tries not to blush, and I can tell she's about to say yes. She stops herself, assumingly because Peeta and Katniss are near. The look in her eyes tells me all I need to know though. We reach the dorm building, and I set her down. She takes a deep breath before opening the door and stepping inside. The three of us follow her inside, and up the right staircase. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

      "So, how many times have you carried her exactly?", I hear Katniss ask Cato. "A few times.", he immediately responds. "Since when do you carry people bridal style?", Peeta asks him in an amused tone of voice. "I don't.", Cato flatly replies. It doesn't sound like he's enjoying this particular conversation. "She must be the exception then.", Katniss comments. Thankfully we reach my dorm room before the conversation can escalate any further. "We're here!", I loudly exclaim. I slide my back pack off of my shoulders before digging around for my keys. I unlock the door, and when we walk inside, Lonnie and Audrey are sitting on Lonnie's bed. Lonnie shoots me a pointed look while Audrey looks disgusted. "Ugh, did you have to drag ALL of them here with you?", Audrey complains. "Yes, I did. I can bring my friends to my dorm room if I want to.", I reply as I cross my arms. Audrey raises her brow at me before going back to filing her nails. "Fairy Godmother told us about the arrangement you made behind our backs.", Lonnie starts. Oh boy, here it comes. " I OF COURSE, have no problem with it. I'd much rather room with Lonnie than that freak.", Audrey interjects. Katniss takes a step forward, I hold a hand out to stop her from doing whatever she's planning on doing. The last thing we need is another fight to break out. "I'm glad you agree to the arrangement Audrey, but Katniss is not a freak.", I calmly say while trying to hold back my frustration. "You really want to share a room with someone you barely even know over your own sister?", Lonnie asks me after standing up. 

* * *

 

  
**Cato's POV:**

      I was right in thinking Audrey wouldn't be her problem here. I can't believe her sister is attempting to make her feel bad for this. So what if she wants to room with someone else? Or is it because Katniss is a shapeshifter? "Katniss is really nice, and I know her better than you do. Audrey's been acting very rudely towards her if you hadn't noticed, and Headmistress Fairy Godmother said there wasn't anywhere else she could put her. It won't kill you to share a room with Audrey for 1 semester.", Mei responds. I must commend her for holding her own really well so far. "Can I talk to you, alone please?", her sister asks her. Mei shakes her head. "There's nothing to talk about, my mind is made up.", she tells her. I can feel how proud and impressed Katniss and Peeta are of her right now. "It's my job to look out for-", her sister begins before Mei cuts her off. "That doesn't mean I need you hovering over me! If I wanna room with someone else, I should be allowed to without worrying that you'll start a fight over it.", Mei snaps. Well this is starting to get intense. I can tell that Katniss feels bad for thinking she's the cause of this, but it feels like their issues stem deeper than just sharing a room. "You're always crying about everything and everyone all the time, so clearly me 'hovering' isn't enough. You can be so childish sometimes.", her sister spits back. Mei's clearly taken back by this, but determination still burns inside of her. "Okay well, this is getting ugly, and as we all can see, I don't do ugly. I'll be in my dorm if you need me, don't need me.", Audrey obnoxiously claims before leaving. 

* * *

 

  
**Mei's POV:**

     "You're the only 1 who's being childish and clingy right now! Where were you exactly when all the times I was upset about something? Where were you every time people were mean to me? Were you looking out for me then too? Give me 1 good reason why 1 shouldn't room with Katniss!", I yell. Lonnie just rolls her eyes before stomping towards the door. "I'll be back later to get my stuff.", she snaps before slamming the door on her way out. I quickly walk to the door, throw it open, and stick my head into the hallway. "Don't bother! Your crap will be in your new room before you are!", I scream before slamming the door shut. "Peeta, would you mind teleporting her stuff please?", I ask as nicely as I can manage at the moment. He nods and as he gets to work doing that, I plop down on my bed and let out a grumble. Cato walks over to me, and sits next to me. "You're kinda cute when you're angry.", he jokes. I bust out laughing, and playfully shove him. Which really only slightly rocks him, mad he's strong. He looks amused. He thinks I'm kinda cute! "What about when I'm not angry?", I ask while quirking my brow. He clears his throat, and I'm prepared for him to back pedal on what he said. "Let me rephrase that then. You're even more kinda cute when you're angry.", he says with a 'are you happy now' look on his face. I giggle before grinning widely at him. "I could say the same about you.", I remark. He looks like he's about to say something, but stops and looks across the room. I look over too, Peeta and Katniss are sitting on Katniss' new bed, facing us. "So, are either of you going to tell us when all of this happened?", Peeta asks. "Or are we going to have to separate you both and grill you individually, until one of you cracks?", Katniss immediately follows up. I glance over at Cato, and he doesn't look too pleased. Uh oh.

* * *

 


End file.
